www.jsser.org Journal of Social Studies Education Research Sosyal Bilgiler Eğitimi Araştırmaları Dergisi 2018:9 (1), 28-59 Social and Political Portrait of Contemporary Russian Student Youth Nadezhda G. Osipova1, Sergey O. Elishev2, Gennadi B. Pronchev3, Danila N. Monakhov4 Abstract The paper is dedicated to the analysis of the social and political portrait of the contemporary Russian young students. The empirical basis of the work is made up by the results of sociological monitoring of the young students' ideas about social and political processes, socialization institutions and youth policy subjects conducted by the authors (in 2013 – 2017) as well as by the results of the "Social portrait of a contemporary Russian student" research (at the faculty of sociology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, 2017). The research technique was based on polling, with questionnaire survey selected as the research method. The questionnaire form contained questions aimed at finding out the students' political, ideological and moral values, their attitude toward the current power institutions, mass information media, religious denominations, public organizations and social work. The students also had to answer questions on the condition of the Russian state and society, any positive and negative phenomena existing among the young people; they evaluated the security of Russia and the effectiveness of the state youth policy. In the end, it has been found out that generally students evaluate the condition of today's Russian state and society in a sensible and critical way, realize the causes of crisis phenomena, and are prepared to take active part in social work. According to the results of analysis of the studies conducted, the necessity is noted of actively assisting the young people in fulfillment of their patriotic impulse and the capacity available. Key words: young students, social and political portrait, youth policy, social and political processes, patriotism, sociological monitoring. Introduction The most important social objective of any transformations initiated by the state is consolidation of the society, its individual social groups on the basis of forming the stable and socially significant value reference points. It is the young people who are one of such groups. The political and moral culture of the young people is known to only grow then when the state does not leave it for complete control of the grassroots "unleashed" political passions but when it creates conditions for the said culture to express itself within an efficient social practice in a correct and precise manner while forming social values and attitudes which are relevant to its needs (Pronchev et al., 2016, Sushko et al., 2016, Tarman & Acun, 2010). Meanwhile, the range of these social values and attitudes is fairly wide, including the moral, esthe tic, economic, religious, ideological and political ones (Draskovic et al., 2017). 1 Prof., Doctor of Sociology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, soc@socio.msu.ru 2 Assoc. Prof., Candidate of Sociology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, elishev@list.ru 3 Assoc. Prof., Candidate of Physics and Mathematics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, pronchev@rambler.ru 4 Senior Lecturer, Candidate of Pedagogy, Lomonosov Moscow State University, MonahovDN@yandex.ru mailto:soc@socio.msu.ru Osipova et al. Forming the value reference points in today's Russian youth, especially in the young students, is one of the major and priority directions of fulfillment of both state and social youth policy in the Russian Federation. So, the document approved by a special resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation "Foundations of the state youth policy of the Russian Federation for the period of up to 2025" (ConsultantPlus, 2015) lays down a system of principles, priority tasks and mechanisms that ensure bringing the state youth policy into life. In particular, this document provides for "creating the conditions for upbringing and development of the young people for them to be aware of and to exercise their constitutional rights and liabilities in a responsible manner, to possess a humanist view of the world, a stable system of moral and civic values, to show the knowledge of their cultural, historical, national heritage and respect for its diversity, as well as to develop the culture of constructive interethnic relations among the young people" (ConsultantPlus, 2015). Thus, it implies a full-scale process of spiritual and moral, national and patriotic, civic, labor upbringing and socialization of the Russian youth. For the process to succeed, the values of the young people have to be continuously monitored, particularities of their perception of transformation processes taking place in the Russian society have to be identified as well as their evaluation of activity of various socialization institutions and youth policy fulfillment subjects. The results obtained during such monitoring will allow not only judging about the efficiency of the activity of various RF institutions and youth policy fulfillment subjects but also adjusting the forms and mechanisms of fulfillment of the said policy. With regard to this, a group of researchers at the faculty of sociology of M.V. Lomonosov MSU periodically conduct sociological monitoring of the young students' perception of social and political processes, socialization institutions and youth policy subjects in today's Russia (Osipova et al., 2017). Literature Review Classical sociology treats youth as a large social group having particular social and psychological traits the existence of which is determined both by the age features of the young people and by their social and economic, social and political position, their spiritual world is still under rise, formation. Usually, the young people aged 16 – 30 are referred to the youth (in statistics, in sociology) (Filippov, 1998, Elishev, 2017). A relatively uniform part of youth, both in age and in social characteristics, is composed by students of vocational education institutions and higher education institution students, studies being their main activity which determines all the essential features of their way of life (Zubok & Chuprov, 2008). Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 30 The total of individuals designated by the notion "youth" and particularly the young students have social and mental qualities that promote a continuous active reappraisal by them of any values existing in the society (Osipova et al., 2017; Tarman, & Chigisheva, 2017). In its turn, a complicated and controversial character of the process of the young people entering an independent life generates various forms of youth protest, asocial ones included. So, the research has shown that under the influence of ideological vacuum emerging in the years of economic and political liberalization a certain part of the Russian youth accept not only the ideas and principles of progressive political trends of today, e.g. social democratic movement or human rights one, but also the postulates of such deeply reactionary ideologies as Neo-Nazism and Zionism (Levashov, 2006). Thus, the youth becomes a sure target of various manipulations (Elishev, 2015, Osipova & Chelishchev, 2016). Conventionally, the term "social manipulation" is usually used to mean a system of ways of ideological, social and psychological impact for changing the people's thinking and behavior counter to their interests (Osipova, 2009, Dzyaloshinsky, 2005). With regard to this, a focused forming of value reference points in youth gains a special importance. It is performed by socialization (Titma, 1975; Elishev, 2015; Yigit & Tarman, 2016 ) – the process of an individual learning the behavior patterns and mechanisms, social standards and values that are required for the individual to function in this society successfully, that "underlie the formation of socially important personality traits" and "the process of the individual's integration into a social group (society)" (Osipov, 201, p. 36). Methodological Framework The objective of the research conducted was to compile a social and political portrait of the contemporary Russian young students. The main tasks of the research were as follows: 1. The analysis of the structure and content, evolution of the young students' social and political evaluation of the condition of today's Russian society and state, social institutions involved in the process of value reference points formation, the role of the mass media, positive and negative phenomena in the social environment, and the activity of the state and political figures, traditional religious denominations. 2. The analysis of evolution of the young students' evaluation of social and political processes taking place in Russia and associated with the social and political events of 2013 – 2017. The empirical basis of the work is made up by the results of sociological monitoring of the young students' ideas about social and political processes, socialization institutions and youth Osipova et al. policy subjects conducted by the authors (in 2013 – 2017) as well as by the results of the "Social portrait of a contemporary Russian student" research (at the faculty of sociology of MSU, 2017). The research technique was based on polling, with questionnaire survey selected as the research method. The questionnaire contained questions aimed at finding out the students' political, ideological and moral values, their attitude to the current institutions of power, mass information media, religious denominations, public organizations and social work. The students also answered to questions about the condition of the Russian state and society, any positive and negative phenomena present among the young people, they evaluated the security of Russia and the efficiency of the state youth policy. During the 2013-2017 sociological monitoring of the young students' ideas about social and political processes, socialization institutions and youth policy subjects, the sample multitude of 2015 and 2017 included 815 students of 50 faculties of "arts" and 50 faculties of "sciences" of the following higher education institutions each: M.V. Lomonosov MSU, RANEPA, MSPU, MSTUCA, CDA of EMERCOM of Russia, RUDN University, MSUC, N.E. Bauman MSTU, Gnesin RAM, S.G. Stroganov MSAIA, K.I. Skryabin MSAVMBT, MSLU, MSLU, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Academy of the FSS of Russia, BHSAD, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, IJLW, MGIMO, MESI, MEPhI (NRNU), MAI, MIIT (MSURE), I.M. Gubkin RSUOG, K.A. Timiryazev RSAU (MTAA), MIPT, SAU, V.Ya. Kikotya MU of the MIA of Russia, St Tikhon's OU, D.I. Mendeleev USTR, RCA, G.V. Plekhanov RUE, K.E. Tsiolkovsky MATI-RSTU, RFTA, and NRU HSE. During the research of 2017, 815 students were surveyed, with 37,% of the questioned ones being male and 62,5% - female students, which generally correlates with the 2015 research results. 70,5% of the questioned ones (i.e. over two-thirds of the respondents) were young people aged 18 to 22, 14% — aged 23 to 26, 13% — aged 14 to 18, and 2,6% — aged 27 to 30. 24,3% of the questioned ones had no income in 2016, 19,5% had 2000 to 5000 rubles income, 18% — 5000 to 15000 rubles, 15,1% — 15000 to 30000 rubles, 9,7% — 30000 to 45000 rubles, 8,3% — 0 to 2000 rubles, and 5,2% — over 45000 rubles. 44,3% of the questioned ones evaluate their material well-being level as average, 20,7% — as below average, 14,8% — as above average, 10,1% — as low, 3,6% — as high, and 6,6% had difficulty answering the question posed. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 32 Among the respondents surveyed, 15% have their own accommodation (flat(s), summer cottage or houses). 85% do not own any housing. Among the students answering the question "What is your attitude to faith and religion?", the majority, 38,1%, consider religion to be an important aspect of life but do not observe religious practices, 23,5% consider religion to be an important aspect of life and observe religious practices. 19,1% said they were atheists but considered religion an important aspect of life of the society while 10,9% said they were atheists and considered religion useless for life of the society. 7,2% of the respondents had difficulty answering the questions and 1,2% of the students answered otherwise. Among the total of the surveyed ones, 69,5% identified themselves as Orthodox Christians, 15,1% — as Islam followers, 3% — as those of Judaism, 1,8% — of Catholicism, 1,6% — of Buddhism, and 0,9% — of Protestantism. 6,6% had difficulty answering the question posed, with 1,4% answering otherwise. 96,9% of the total of the questioned ones are not members of any party or organization while 3,1% of the respondents mentioned they were members of political parties, movements and organizations. During the "Social portrait of a contemporary Russian student" research (according to the results of the research conducted at the faculty of sociology of MSU) sociological monitoring, 494 students were questioned, of them 370 bachelor degree students (of all years and attendance modes) and 124 master degree students (74,9% and 25,1% of all respondents, respectively). According to the training direction, the "social sciences" students prevailed - 97,4% versus 2,6% of "master degree students", as well as the state-funded education ones (88,1% versus 11,9% fee- paying students). 18,4% of the respondents were male and 81,6% – female students, which is largely in line with the general gender composition of the student total of the faculty. According to accommodation, there was the following distribution of students: about one third of them (32,8%) live at student hostels, almost one half – with their parents (45,5%) or relatives (3,6%). 8,5% of the students rent housing and almost as many, 8,7%, have their own accommodation. The students' evaluation of the material well-being of the parental family has shown that as for the vast majority of the students (90,3%), the parents either "do not have any material difficulties at all" (46,8% of the answers) or "have material difficulties from time to time" (43,5% of the answers). Virtually one respondent in ten (9,4%) mentioned their "parents being in Osipova et al. a difficult material situation". With regard to this, it is curious that over two-thirds of the students have a certain monthly income: 2000 to 5000 rubles in 15,8% of the respondents, 5000 to 15000 rubles – in 21,7%, and 15000 to 30000 rubles – in 18,2%. The income of almost 20% of all questioned ones is quite substantial, if compared to the statistically average one for Russia. So, 9,5% of the students have 30000 to 45000 rubles per month and exactly as many – over 45000 rubles per month. Meanwhile, it is 15% of the students who mention "I am comfortably off and deny myself nothing", and the majority (66,2%) "only have enough money to cover daily expenses". Almost one in six students (17,4%) said they "had enough money for the most necessary only", but so few as 1,4% of all respondents considered their material well-being to be "distressed". In computer processing of the data, the authors used the technique having a strict mathematic probability justification, with sample estimation methods applied too. The sampling error amounts to not more than ± 5% at probability P = 0,95 as a whole for the multitude. Results and Discussion The Condition of Today's Russian Society and State The students' answers to the first questions of the questionnaire have shown that on balance the students of Moscow evaluate the condition of today's Russian society and state in a sensible and critical way and realize the causes of crisis phenomena with which they associate the condition. So, the survey has shown that over half of the students (55,8%) agree with the statement that "the modern Russian society is under a systemic crisis" while about a quarter of the respondents (25,8%) deny the fact of crisis existing in today's Russian society. Meanwhile, 18,2% of the questioned ones said it was difficult for them to answer and so few as 0,2% opted for the "other" variant (see Fig. 1). Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 34 Figure 1. Modern Russian society and systemic crises Source: the authors Comparing the obtained results with ones of the similar survey conducted in March-April 2015, it can be stated that there has been no significant change. Yet, over the recent two years, the quantity of students thinking that "the modern Russian society is under a systemic crisis" has shown a 1,3% decrease. The quantity of students denying the fact of crisis of the modern Russian society available also went down by 0,8%. There was a 2,1% decrease in the quantity of students giving other answers while the quantity of the questioned ones who had difficulty answering this question has grown by 3,8%. The answers of students to the question "Do you agree with the statement that the modern Russian state is under a systemic crisis?" have demonstrated almost the same proportion (see Fig. 2). Figure 2. Modern Russian state and systemic crises Source: the authors 55,8%25,8% 18,2% 0,2% Do you agree with the statement that the modern Russian society is under a systemic crisis? Agree Disagree Difficult to answer Other 56,2% 25,4% 18,1% 0,2% Do you agree with the statement that the modern Russian state is under a systemic crisis? Agree Disagree Difficult to answer Other Osipova et al. The results obtained were also compared to the results of the "Value reference points of the modern Russian youth, features of the process of their formation and youth policy fulfillment" survey that was conducted among Moscow higher education students in November 2013 (Elishev & Talanova, 2014). This comparison enabled the authors to state the following: 1. Just like in 2013 and 2015, the majority of Moscow students (68,7%) agreed with the fact of a systemic crisis existing in today's Russian society and/or state. Meanwhile, the quantity of the respondents agreeing with the statement about the modern Russian society and/or state being in a systemic crisis condition changed little throughout these 4 years – 2,7% (from 67,2% in 2013 up to 69,9% in 2015) upwards and 1,2% downwards (from 69,9% in 2015 up to 68,7 in 2017). 2. Quite a significant percentage of Moscow students (31,3%) disagreed with the fact of a systemic crisis existing in today's Russian society and/or state, which is slightly different from the 2015 survey results (30,1%) but is in a sharp contrast to the similar answers obtained in 2013 (10,8%) (see Fig. 3). Figure 3. Systemic crises in the Russian society as viewed by the students Source: the authors The research has shown that Moscow students agreeing that there is a systemic crisis in today's Russian state and/or society think seriously about its causes. So, the first place among the said systemic crisis causes is occupied by "the mass media imposing standards of consumer society, American way of life, cult of money and violence" (53,1% of the answers) – even though this is 6,5% less than in 2015 (59,6% of the answers) and 3,5% less than in 2013 (56,6% 68,7% 31,3% Is there a crisis? Yes No Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 36 of the answers). Nevertheless, this cause still remains the leading option among the suggested answers. A slightly smaller quantity of students mentioned "lack of spirituality and departure from cultural traditions" (52,1% of the answers). Such cause as "a global crisis of political, social and economic, cultural spheres of life of the world community" ranks third among the students' answers (46,2%), while "crisis phenomena in the economic sphere of public management" – fourth (44,6% of the answers). A bit over a quarter (28%) of students of Moscow higher education institutions believe "the destructive actions of "the fifth column" (internal enemies, traitors) within Russia" to be the cause of the crisis of today's Russian society and/or state. 9,4% of the young people cited other causes and 4,9% found it difficult to answer the question (see Table 1). The "global crisis of political, social and economic, cultural spheres of life of the world community" lands second among the causes of the systemic crisis in today's Russian state and/or society (47,2%) – in 2015 it ranked third among the students' answers (46,2%), i.e. it is now 1% higher than in 2015. The third place belongs to the "crisis phenomena in the economic sphere of public management" answer option (45,9%), which is 1,3% higher than in 2015 (44,6% of the answers). The fourth place is occupied by the answer "lack of spirituality and departure from cultural traditions" (44,5%), i.e. it is 7,6% less than in 2015 (52,1% of the answers) but 11,2% more than in 2013 (33,3%). Notably, this answer ranked second both in 2013 and in 2015. A bit over a quarter (29,4%) of students of Moscow higher education institutions believe "the destructive actions of "the fifth column" (internal enemies, traitors) within Russia" – that is, essentially, the agents of global liberalism ideology who ulcerate the Russian society from within, the antisocial elements (for more detail see (Osipova, 2014)) – to be the cause of the crisis of today's Russian society and/or state. This is 1,9% higher than in 2015 (28%) and as much as 21,1% higher than in 2013 (8,3%). 3,9% of the young people gave other causes (this is 5,5% less than in 2015 (9,4%) and 2,5% less than in 2013 (6,4%)) and 16,7% (or 11,8% more than in 2015 (4,9%) and 1,7% more than in 2013 (15%)) found it difficult to answer the question (see Table 1). Osipova et al. Table 1 Proportion of the students' answers to the question "What do you think are the causes of such a crisis?" Answer options % The mass media imposing standards of consumer society, "American way of life", cult of money and violence 53,1 A global crisis of political, social and economic, cultural spheres of life of the world community 47,2 Crisis phenomena in the economic sphere of public management 45,9 Lack of spirituality and departure from cultural traditions 44,5 The destructive actions of "the fifth column" (internal enemies, traitors) within Russia 29,4 Other causes 3,9 It is difficult for me to answer 16,7 Thus, among the mentioned by the students causes of the systemic crisis of today's Russian society and/or state, two causes ("the mass media imposing standards of consumer society, "American way of life", cult of money and violence" and "lack of spirituality and departure from cultural traditions") have slightly given ground – there has been an over 5% reduction in the quantity of those opting for them, as compared to the 2015 survey results. Such dynamics may be indicative of certain positive shifts both in the sphere of mass media activity regulation and in the spiritual sphere of the public life activity. Other causes of the systemic crisis of today's Russian society and/or state singled out by the students have remained almost unchanged as compared to the 2015 survey results. Yet, the quantity of students who had difficulty answering this question has also shown some increase. The students' answers to the question "What do you consider to pose the greatest threat for the security of Russia?" have demonstrated the following percentage. About a half (48,8%) of the young people named corruption at various levels of the government as the main threat for the security of Russia [this is 10,2% less than in 2015 (59%)]. 35,4% said it was stratification of the society into the rich and the poor [13,9% more than in 2015 (21,5%)]. 14,8% believed it was the Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 38 "fifth column" acting [4,8% less than in 2015 (19,6%)]. 1% of the students gave their own answer variants [15,6% less than in 2015 (16,6%)] (see Fig. 4). Figure 4. The greatest threat for the security of Russia Source: the authors Sociological studies conducted at the beginning of the 21st century have shown that the Russian society has constantly suffered from a lack of moral reference points, values and behavior patterns rather than social, economic and political ones (Levashov, 2004). To a great extent, this was associated with devaluation of functional role of the traditional institutions that had to influence forming of the society's value reference points. Social Institutions of Forming of the Value Reference Points The 2017 research has confirmed it that nowadays the role of various social institutions and mechanisms acting on forming of the modern Russian young people's value reference points has increased considerably. With regard to this, the leading position is still occupied by the mass media (72,9%): even though this is 5,1% less than in 2015 (78% of the answers), it is also 11% more than in 2013 (61,9%). The institution of family ranks second in the quantity of answers (63,6%) - 11,1% lower than in 2015 (74,7% of the answers) and 8,6% higher than in 2013 (55%). The third place is occupied by the system of education (51,5%) – it is 3,8% less than in 2015 (55,3% of the answers) but 15,4% more than in 2013 (36,1%). According to the students, the role of state authorities and local self-government bodies in forming of the value reference 48,8% 35,4% 14,8% 1,0% What do you consider to pose the greatest threat for the security of Russia? Corruption at various levels of the government Stratification of the society into the rich and the poor Actions of the "fifth column" Other Osipova et al. points in today's Russian youth has increased quite markedly (30,3% of the answers) – it ranks fourth among the institutions under consideration, i.e. 13,7% higher than in 2015 (16,6%) and 20,2% higher than in 2013 (11,1%). A clear positive dynamics of evaluation of the activity of this institution is evident (see Fig. 5). Figure 5. Institutions of today`s society influencing the formation of value reference points in the modern Russian youth the most efficiently Source: the authors Public associations and organizations (ranking fifth in 2017 and fourth in 2013 and 2015) have made it to the fifth while traditional religious denominations (Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism) – to the sixth place in 2017, respectively (ranking fifth both in 2013 and 2015). Public associations and organizations have won 27,8%, which is 2,3% less than in 2015 (30,1%) but 6,4% more than in 2013 (21,4%). Traditional religious denominations (Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism) have got 22,4%, which is 1,2% more than in 2015 (21,2%) and 6,2% more than in 2013 (16,2%). Just like in 2015, large business organizations and corporations have occupied the same seventh place (they did eighth in 2013). Getting 16% of the answers, they had 6,1% more than in 2015 (9,9%) and also 10,6% more than in 2013 (5,4%). The eighth place is held by the army (it ranked eighth in 2015 but seventh in 2013). The attitude to the army as an institution influencing the forming of value reference points in the modern Russian youth the most efficiently has only changed slightly, growing by 2,1% from 2015 (7,7%) to 2017 (9,8%). As compared to the results of the 2013 survey, it has improved by 1,9% (from 7,9% in 2013 up to 9,8% in 2017). 9,8 16,0 22,4 27,8 30,3 51,5 63,6 72,9 0,0 20,0 40,0 60,0 80,0 the army large economic entities, corporations traditional religious denominations (Orthodox… public associations and organizations state authorities and local self-government bodies the system of education family mass media What institutions of today's society influence the forming of value reference points in the modern Russian youth the most efficiently? Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 40 Drawing the line, it can be stated that three basic factors producing the most pronounced influence on forming of the value reference points in the modern Russian youth, as seen by students, still are the mass media, the institutions of family and education (despite some of them backwatering to an extent). Over the recent four years, the role of the state (both state authorities and local self-government bodies) in this process also increased considerably. Large business associations and organizations somewhat improved their situation while the impact of other institutions remained largely unchanged. The Role of the Mass Information Media With the phenomenon of "information society" existing in Russia, the registered influence of the mass media is not especially surprising (Osipov, 2000, Osipova & Yurchenko, 2010). Given the increasing role of the mass media in forming of not only the public opinion but also some deeper elements of people's view of the world, their value reference points, Moscow students were asked the question: "What value reference points do you think the federal mass information media are trying to form?". Their answers to the question were distributed as follows. According to the students of Moscow higher education institutions, the federal mass media are currently forming the following socially approved (positive) value reference points: - patriotism (46,9% of the answers - 11,8% less than in 2015 (58,7% of the answers)); - healthy lifestyle (31,6% of the answers - 2% less than in 2015 (33,6% of the answers)); - diligence (25,6% of the answers - 7,5% less than in 2015 (18,1% of the answers)). As for the disapproved by the society (negative) value reference points formed by the mass media, the students have cited the following - the cult of money (40,1% of the answers - 7,1% less than in 2015 (47,2% of the answers)); - consumerism (37,3% of the answers - 10,4% less than in 2015 (47,7 of the answers); - adoption of Western lifestyles (30,9% of the answers - 0,6% less than in 2015 (31,5% of the answers)); - egoism (26,2% of the answers - 6,9% more than in 2015 (19,3% of the answers), (see Fig. 6). Comparing the results with those of the 2013 survey, it should be pointed out that for a number of items, the students' evaluation of the activity of the federal mass media has changed Osipova et al. towards a positive side. So, the first place among the value reference points formed by the federal mass media is won by patriotism with the students – both in 2015 (58,7%) and in 2017 (46,9%). This is 38,4% (in 2015) and 26,6% (in 2017) more than in 2013 (20,3%). As compared to 2013, the quantity of students mentioning the cult of money and consumerism (as items ranking second and third) has gone down: consumerism – 22,1% less in 2017 and 10,8% less in 2015, versus 58,5% of the answers in 2013; the cult of money - 29,4% less in 2017 and 22,3% less in 2015, versus 69,5% of the answers in 2013. Just like in 2015, healthy lifestyle occupies the fourth place, which means 8,6% (as of 2017) and 10,6% (in 2015) more than in 2013 (health had 23% of the answers). The fifth place is occupied by adoption of Western lifestyles due to massive propaganda, which is 21,1% (in 2017) and 20,5% (in 2015) less as compared to 52% of the answers in 2013. Figure 6. Value reference points that are formed by the federal mass media Source: the authors The sixth place is given by the students to egoism (26,2%), which is 6,9% more than in 2015 (19,3%) and 20,1% less than in 2013 (46,3%). Diligence ranks seventh (25,6%), which is 7,5% more than in 2015 (18,1%) and 11,8% more than in 2013 (work had 13,8%). The eighth place is occupied by faith in God (25,1%), which is 7 % more than in 2015 (18,1%) and 15,1 % more than in 2013 (work — 10%). Place nine is allocated to family welfare (24,6%), which is 3,8 % more than in 2015 (20,8%) and 7,6 % more than in 2013 (family won 17% of the answers). 1,6 2,3 19,0 19,6 19,8 23,7 24,6 25,1 25,6 26,2 30,9 31,6 37,3 40,1 46,9 0,0 10,0 20,0 30,0 40,0 50,0 Difficult to answer Agape The propensity to violence Family welfare Diligence Adoption of Western lifestyles Consumerism Patriotism What value reference points are the federal mass media trying to form, in your opinion? Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 42 Sexual promiscuity ranks tenth (23,7%), which is 2 % less than in 2015 (25,7% of the answers) and 37,6% less than in 2013 (sex — 61,3% of the answers). The "propensity to violence" (19,8%) occupies the eleventh place, which is 0,5 % less than in 2015 (20,3% of the answers) and 23,7% less than in 2013 (violence amounted to 43,5% of the answers). The twelfth place is held by kindness (19,6%), which is 6,2% more than in 2015 (13,4% of the answers) and 9,1% more than in 2013 (10,5% of the answers). Agape (19%) ranks thirteenth, which is 7,4% more than in 2015 (11,6% of the answers) and 2% less as compared to the 2013 answers (then agape had 21% of the answers). 2,3% of the students answered otherwise, which is 2,7% less than in 2015 (5%) and 0,5% more than in 2013 (1,8%). 1,6% of the young people had difficulty answering this question, which is 0,5% less than in 2015 (2,1%) and 0,6% more than in 2013 (1% of the answers). Thus, according to the students, the federal mass media form both positive and negative reference points that alternate in relevance between each other. Meanwhile, it is the Internet- based mass media that have an especially important influence on these processes. During the "Social portrait of a contemporary Russian student" research (2017), it has also been found out that of all kinds of mass media the vast majority of the sociological faculty students (93,9%) prefer various Internet mass media (95,5% of the bachelor degree students of the first years, 93,8% of the bachelor degree students of senior years, and 91,1% of the master degree students). It is only 4% who use the television (2,7% of the bachelor degree students of the first years, 4,8% - of the bachelor degree students of senior years, 5,6% of the master degree students). Listening to the radio and reading printed periodicals is preferred by only 0,8% of the questioned ones, respectively, with 0,4% of the respondents giving other answers to the questionnaire items. With regard to this, the Internet is used for various purposes in the vast majority of cases. Anyway, it is used for communication (91,9%) and searching for the required information (90,7%) the most frequently (once a day or more often). The Internet is also used for entertainment, studying and work – by 73,3%, 67,4% and 43,1% of the students, respectively. In particular, 18,6% of the questioned ones do not use the Internet for the said purposes at all. The Internet is used for gaming quite rarely, by so few as 11,5% of the respondents (with 53% of the students not using the Internet for this purpose completely). It is mainly the master degree students (69,4%) and the bachelor degree students of senior years (46,6%) who use the Internet for work. Only 26,3% of the bachelor degree students of the Osipova et al. first years use the Internet for this purpose. As for using the Internet for studies, this is mainly common in the bachelor degree students of the first years (71,4%) and the bachelor degree students of senior years (67,1%). There are somewhat fewer master degree students using the Internet for studies (60,5%). Positive and Negative Phenomena in the Social Environment A special place in this and previous studies was given to the students' evaluation of any socially positive and negative phenomena among the young people. Among the socially positive phenomena, the focus on patriotism is evident. In fact, as this survey has shown in its turn, the vast majority of Moscow students (84,2%) have a positive attitude to patriotism. However, this is 1,3% less than in 2015 (85,5%), although 5,3% more than in 2013 (78,9%). 5,4% of the respondents expressed their negative attitude to patriotism, which is just 0,1% more than in 2013 (5,3%) and 3,2% less than in 2013 (8,6%). For 10,4% of the respondents (1,2% more than in 2013 (9,2%) and 2,1% less than in 2013 (12,5%)) it was difficult to voice their attitude to patriotism. On balance, the remaining positive perception of this phenomenon is absolutely unsurprising within the context of the 2014-2017 events (reunion of the Crimea with the Russian Federation, aggravation of geopolitical situation, media war and economic sanctions initiated against Russia). Such dynamics seems especially valuable, because it is very often that national and state, social and political values go to the background in the people's consciousness gradually yielding their place to some narrow pecuniary interests. This happens due to a nosedive of the citizens' trust for the state and its policy – the trust which used to be there in the years of radical liberal reforms, as reduction of the state involvement into political consciousness and devaluation of the patriotism value with the Russian population proceeded violently. Patriotism as a social and political phenomenon expresses the people's attitude to the country, state, its leaders, to the power and the society as a whole. Patriotism is also understood as a social and moral principle characterizing the citizens' attitude to their country. In life, the attitude manifests itself in a complex set of feelings, knowledge, value reference points, attitudes, and actions, usually voiced as love for one's Motherland. In its turn, love for the Motherland is deemed to be "care for the interests and the historical destiny of one's own country, pride of its achievements and criticism of its disadvantages, compassion with the people's sufferings and social needs, respect for the historical past and traditions of one's Motherland; affection for the place of birth, residence – the Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 44 so-called love for one's home and hearth; readiness for self-sacrifice, for fighting the Motherland's enemies, defense of its interests" (Levashov, 2006, p. 28). It is these values that make up the core of patriotism in today's Russian society. It is them that the students most likely mean when ticking off the "patriotism" box. Meanwhile, the answers characterizing the students' attitude to socially negative phenomena among the young people have not ceased being of a serious concern. This is quite a significant percentage of still positive evaluation given by Moscow higher education institution students to such traditionally negative phenomena as: - careerism (41,6%), although this is 17% less than in 2015 (58,1% of the answers) as well as 22,6% less than in 2013 (64,2% of the answers); - extramarital sex (26,9%), although this is 6,7% and less than in 2015 (33,6% of the answers) and 6,9% less than in 2013 (33,8%); - conformism (25,2%), although this is 16,7% less than in 2015 (41,9% of the answers) and 21,4% less than in 2013 (46,6% of the answers). Idle lifestyle (19,1%) and consumerism (19,4%) are not particularly rejected by the students either, with a rather high percentage of ones finding it difficult to evaluate these and some other negative phenomena (see Fig. 7). Evidently, a significant proportion of today's young people do not understand the negative semantic load of such categories as careerism and conformism believing them to be just a way of getting a job promotion and perceiving them positively. Figure 7. Students` attitude to socially negative phenomena Source: the authors 5,0 5,3 6,0 6,5 6,5 7,1 8,4 10,3 12,9 19,1 19,4 20,5 25,2 26,9 41,6 84,2 80,9 84,5 83,2 85,1 78,7 73,3 77,5 70,8 72,0 62,6 61,6 57,1 56,3 48,0 42,6 5,4 10,2 10,8 8,4 14,7 19,6 14,1 15,1 18,3 18,9 22,5 18,5 25,2 10,4 0,0 20,0 40,0 60,0 80,0 100,0 Chauvinism Extremism Unscrupulousness Indifference Egoism Consumerism Conformism Careerism Positive Negative Difficult to answer Osipova et al. The Activity of the State and Political Figures, Traditional Religious Denominations The research also revealed the students' attitude to the activity of various state and political figures of the Russian Federation. The answers given by students of Moscow higher education institutions to the question "Do you approve of the activity of the following state and political figures?" were distributed as follows. Among the state and political figures, the RF President (V.V. Putin) wins the greatest trust with the young people. He leads with 82,3% of the students, which is 1,1% more than in 2015 (81,2%) and 18,1% more than in 2013 (64,2% of the answers). The percentage of students who disapprove of the RF President's activity and those finding it difficult to answer the question has remained almost unchanged. So, the quantity of students disapproving of the RF President's activity has decreased by 0,5% (from 7,5% in 2015 to 7% in 2017) and made 11,9% less than in 2013 (18,9% of the answers). The quantity of students who had difficulty answering the question has gone down by 0,6% (from 11,3% in 2015 to 10,7% in 2017) and made 6,2% less than in 2013 (16,9%). In other words, the RF President (V.V. Putin) being the national leader and the head of the state commands the support of the majority of Moscow students, just like of the population of Russia, which correlates with the results of numerous sociological surveys of the topic. The Minister of the Foreign Affairs of the RF, S.V. Lavrov, has remained the second popular with the students (68,3% of the answers) among the Russian state and political figures, having improved his rating by 0,9% as compared to the 2015 data (67,4% of the answers). The third place is steadily occupied by the Minister of Defense of the RF (S.K. Shoigu), with 67,4% of the answers in 2017, which is 2,5% more than in 2015 (64,9%). The fourth place has been won by the Chairman of the RF Government, D.A. Medvedev, outperforming the Mayor of Moscow. He had 45,3% of the respondents' voices, which is 6,8% more than in 2015 (38,5% of the answers). The Mayor of Moscow, S.S. Sobyanin, ranks fifth – his rating has decreased by 13,3% as compared to 2015 (drifting from 53,3% in 2015 down to 40% in 2017). Just as before, the sixth place with 37,5% of the answers belongs to the Minister of Culture of the RF (V.R. Medinsky). He has slightly given ground as compared to 2015 – by 0,8% (from 38,3% in 2015 to 37,5% in 2017). The trust in the new Minister of Education and Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 46 Science of the RF (O.Yu. Vasilieva) demonstrates a steady growth trend (31%), which is 11% more than the previous Minister of Education and Science of the RF (D.V. Livanov) had in 2015. The analysis of the answers given to this question as compared to the 2015 survey results allows concluding that against the background of events which took place in 2014-2017 (reunion of the Crimea with the Russian Federation, economic sanctions initiated against Russia, aggravation of geopolitical situation, and media war against Russia), the trust rating of the RF President (V.V. Putin) has grown. It has also been retained by the ministers who took the most active part in solving a wide scope of problems (the Minister of the Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defense) related to the said events. All the above clearly confirms the students' approval of V.V. Putin's course toward the Russian Federation gaining the entirety of the state sovereignty. Figure 8. Students' attitude to the activity of various state and political figures of the Russian Federation Source: the authors The Mayor of Moscow's (S.S. Sobyanin) giving ground may be viewed as a result of the ambitious reconstruction of the city of Moscow and biased coverage by some mass media and social networks of the process of adoption of the law on renovation of housing in the city of Moscow (see Fig. 8). It should be pointed out that a targeted socialization of youth is impossible without the state, religious, social and political institutions participating in the process, which is embodied in the activity of the law enforcement authorities, trade unions, political parties and movements 31,0 37,5 40,0 45,3 67,4 68,3 82,3 41,6 30,8 26,4 30,5 11,1 10,4 7,0 27,4 31,7 33,5 24,2 21,5 21,3 10,7 0,0 20,0 40,0 60,0 80,0 100,0 Minister of Education and Science of the RF Minister of Culture of the RF Mayor of Moscow Chairman of the RF Government Minister of Defense of the RF Minister of Foreign Affairs of the RF President of the RF Approve Disapprove Difficult to answer Osipova et al. (Rutkevich & Potapov, 1995). The analysis of the students' answers to the question "Do you approve of the activity of the following state, religious, social and political institutions?" has allowed the authors to state the following. Among the state, religious, social and political institutions, the greatest trust in the young people is risen by the state. The activity of the state was approved by 69,3% of the students, which is 12,6% more than in 2015 (56,7%). The quantity of the students' answers evaluating the activity of this institution as negative decreased by 0,4% (from 14% in 2015 to 13,6% in 2017), while there was a 12,2% reduction in the quantity of ones who were not sure about their opinion (from 29,3% in 2015 to 17,1% in 2017). The traditional for Russia religious denominations (Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism) and their organizations have faded to the second place from the top one. In 2017, the activity of the institutions is approved by 68,1% of Moscow students, which is 8,3% more than in 2015 (59,8%) as well as 10% more than in 2013 (58,1% of the answers). The quantity of the students who disapprove of their activity has gone down by 5,2% (from 20,7% in 2015 to 15,5% in 2017, which in its turn is 3,1% less than in 2013 (18,6%)). There also was a 2,5% reduction in the quantity of those who had difficulty answering the question (from 19,6% in 2015 to 17,1% in 2017, which is in its turn 6,2% less than in 2013 (23,3%)). Just like in 2015, the third, the fourth and the fifth places were occupied by the army (ranking third), the law enforcement authorities (fourth) and large economic entities (corporations) ranking fifth, respectively. The quantity of the students (50,2%) sharing an approving attitude toward the army shrank by 5,9% as compared to 2015 (56,1%); anyway, this is 0,3% more than in 2013 (49,3%), as the army institution made it to the fourth. 42,8% of the students approve of the activity of the law enforcement authorities, which is 0,5% more than in 2013 (42,3% of the answers) and 9,7% more than in 2013 – 33,1% of the answers (back in 2013 they ranked ninth). Large economic entities got 38,3% of the answers, which is 1,9% less than in 2015 (40,2%) and 5,6% less than in 2013 - 43,9%. The respondents ranked the political parties and organizations sixth (37,5%, with them going two places up, from place 8 in 2015 (9 in 2013), getting 4% more than in 2015 (33,5%) or 5,6% more than in 2013 (31,9%). The questioned ones put the trade unions to the seventh place (35,6%), which is 4,1% less than in 2015 (39,7% of the answers), although 0,5% more than in 2013 (37%), as the trade unions ranked sixth. Courts occupy the eighth place (35,6%), i.e. 0,6% less than in 2015 (36,2% of the answers – place 7), although 6,4% more than in 2013 (29,2% and ranking twelfth). Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 48 The ninth place is occupied by the mass media (30,8%), which is 0,4% less than in 2015 (31,2% of the answers then resulted in the ninth place as well) and 3 % less than in 2013 (33,8% of the answers which brought the mass media place 8). Just like it used to in 2015, the last place (tenth) belongs to the non-traditional for Russia religious associations and organizations (sects) – 10,2% (3,2% more than in 2015). 67,1% of the young people disapprove of their activity in Russia, which is 14,7% less than in 2013 (81,8%), against a 11,5% growth of the quantity of students who had difficulty answering (11,2% in 2015 and 22,7% in 2017), (see Fig. 9). Figure 9. Students' answers to the question "Do you approve of the activity of the following state, religious, social and political institutions?" Source: the authors Generally, a positive attitude in quite a large proportion of the students toward the activity of the state and its institutions (the army, law enforcement authorities, courts) can be identified, which is clearly demonstrated the positive dynamics of their evaluation. As naturally, a high extent of approval is also won by the activity of the traditional for Russia religious denominations (Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism) and their organizations, contrary to disapproval toward the religious associations and organizations that are non- traditional for Russia (sects). The supportive attitude in the students toward these basic social institutions of the contemporary Russian society gives evidence about the students clearly understanding the role and place of these institutions in the life activity of the Russian society as well as about their efficient functioning in the recent four years. Meanwhile, the attitude toward 10,2 30,8 35,6 35,6 37,5 38,3 42,8 50,2 68,1 69,3 67,1 43,3 28,3 26,3 30,1 26,0 26,1 19,9 15,5 13,6 22,7 26,0 36,1 38,1 32,4 35,6 31,0 29,9 17,1 0,0 20,0 40,0 60,0 80,0 100,0 Non-traditional for Russia religious associations and… Mass media Courts Trade unions Political parties and movements Large economic entities (corporations) Law enforcement authorities The army Traditional for Russia religious denominations… The state Approve Disapprove Difficult to answer Osipova et al. large economic entities (corporations), trade unions and political parties and organizations, has remained virtually unchanged. Potential Capacities of the Russian Youth In spite of the very patriotic and optimistic moods of the young students (that were evidenced by the surveys of 2013, 2015 and 2017), it is crucial to understand how socially active the youth is and whether they want to contribute to the revival of Russia. This research has shown that forecasts concerning this may well be positive, even though the quantity of the young people believing that the modern Russian youth is able to contribute to the revival of Russia decreased by 1,3% in 2017 (70,3%) as compared to the 2015 survey results (71,4%); anyway, this is 26,2% more than the 2013 figure (44,1%). 19,1% of the students think the modern Russian youth is unable to do that, i.e. 4,8% more than in 2015 (14,3) but 9,6% less than in 2013 (28,7%) of the respondents think so. Those who had difficulty answering the question (9,9%) numbered 0,2% less as compared to the 2015 results (10,1%) and 10% less versus the 2013 results. The quantity of the students marking the "other" option (0,7%) decreased by 3,4% as compared to the 2015 figure (4,1%) and by 3,7% – to the 2013 survey results (see Fig. 10). Figure 10. Contribution of the modern Russian youth to the revival of Russia Source: the authors During the "Social portrait of a contemporary Russian student" sociological survey (2017), the students of the faculty of sociology of MSU were asked the similar question. 68,8% 70,3% 19,1% 9,9% 0,7% Do you think the modern Russian youth can contribute to the revival of Russia? Yes No Difficult to answer Other Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 50 of the students of the faculty of sociology said the modern Russian youth is capable to contribute to the revival of Russia (with the bachelor degree students of the first years (71,4%) turning out to be quite optimistic on it, and the master degree students (64,5%) proving to be the most skeptical). 15% of the students of the faculty of sociology think the modern Russian youth is not capable to do that (the master degree students (16,1%) again showing more skeptical attitude in their evaluation of the young people's role, with the bachelor degree students of senior years (13,7%) being less skeptical). 14,2% of the respondents had difficulty answering the question (these were mostly the bachelor degree students of senior years (16,4%) and to a smaller extent – the bachelor degree students of the first years (11,6%)). 2,0% gave other answers to this question (the highest frequency of those being among the master degree students (3,2%), and the lowest – with the bachelor degree students of senior years (1,4%)) (see Fig. 11). In other words, minor distinctions in the evaluation of prospects and opportunities for the young people to contribute to the revival of Russia can be determined in answers given by the students of the faculty of sociology of MSU and by Moscow students in general, according to the results of 2017 surveys. Figure 11. MSU survey results distribution on the Contribution of the modern Russian youth to the revival of Russia Source: the authors Within this context, the students' evaluation of the fact of any patriotic moods as well as the extent of various negative phenomena with the young people is of a substantial interest. 68,8% 15,0% 14,2% 2,0% Do you think the modern Russian youth can contribute to the revival of Russia? (according to the results of the survey conducted at the faculty of sociology of MSU) Yes No Difficult to answer Other Osipova et al. The research has shown that 14% of the students of the faculty of sociology believe patriotism to be fairly widespread in the youth environment, while 46,4% of the questioned ones said it was "widespread, but not much" and 31,2% – "almost not occurring". 8,5% of the respondents found it difficult to answer. According to the students, the following negative phenomena are very widespread among the young people (listed in the descending occurrence order): - extramarital sex (82,4% of the answers); - consumerism (70,6% of the answers); - adoption of Western lifestyles (62,6% of the answers); - careerism (58,1% of the answers); - egoism (55,9% of the answers); - idle lifestyle (48,4% of the answers); - indifference (38,5% of the answers); - conformism (37,9% of the answers); - dependency (32,6% of the answers); - propensity to corruption, illicit enrichment (27,9% of the answers); - unscrupulousness (24,7% of the answers). The following phenomena are less pronounced, as seen by the students: - public order disturbance (quite widespread – 14 % of the answers; widespread, but not much - 45,1% of the answers); - extremism(quite widespread - 9,3% of the answers; widespread, but not much - 45,1% of the answers); - homosexuality(quite widespread – 8,1%; widespread, but not much - 34% of the answers); - chauvinism (quite widespread – 7,7% of the answers; widespread, but not much – 35,6% of the answers) (see Fig. 12). Therefore, it is evident that students are clearly aware of various negative phenomena occurring among the young people and demonstrate a sufficiently critical attitude toward them. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 52 Figure 12. Negative phenomena believed by the students to be very widespread among the young people Source: the authors Volunteering One of the important directions in fulfillment of the youth policy in the Russian Federation as well as in the process of civil and patriotic upbringing of today's Russian youth is volunteering (good causes). With regard to this, while conducting the "Social portrait of a contemporary Russian student" (2017) sociological survey, the authors also placed an emphasis on finding out the students' attitude toward volunteering. Among the students of the faculty of sociology of M.V. Lomonosov MSU, 49,8% have had an experience of participation in volunteering (42,9% - of the bachelor degree students of the first years, 61% - of the bachelor degree students of senior years, 49,2% - of the master degree students). 46,2 % of the students said they had no such experience (50% - of the bachelor degree students of the first years, 37% - of the bachelor degree students of senior years, 50% - of the master degree students) (see Fig. 13). 24,7% 27,9% 32,6% 37,9% 38,5% 48,4% 55,9% 58,1% 62,6% 70,6% 82,4% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Unscrupulousness Dependency Indifference Egoism Adoption of Western lifestyles Extramarital sex Negative phenomena believed by the students to be very widespread among the young people Osipova et al. Figure 13. Distribution of the respondents depending on their volunteering experience Source: the authors In particular, with 51,2 % of the questioned ones (52,2% - of the bachelor degree students of the first years, 48,6% - of the bachelor degree students of senior years, 52,4% - of the master degree students) a definitely positive attitude to volunteering has already formed. In 22,7% of the students (21,9% - of the bachelor degree students of the first years, 22,6% - of the bachelor degree students of senior years, 24,2% - of the master degree students), the attitude is rather positive. 20,2% of the respondents feel neutral toward volunteering (20,1% - of the bachelor degree students of the first years, 20,5% - of the bachelor degree students of senior years, 20,2% - of the master degree students). So few as 3,6% of the students have a rather negative attitude toward volunteering (2,7% - of the bachelor degree students of the first years, 6,2% - of the bachelor degree students of senior years, 2,4% - of the master degree students). 2,2% had difficulty answering (3,1% - of the bachelor degree students of the first years, 2,1% - of the bachelor degree students of senior years, 0,8% - of the master degree students) (see Fig. 14). 49,8% 46,2% 4,0% Distribution of the respondents depending on their volunteering experience Has had a volunteering experience No volunteering experience Difficult to answer Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 54 Figure 14. The students` attitude to volunteering Source: the authors There were 34,6% of the students who had had a volunteering experience in assisting to organize various events, conferences and academic competitions. 30,2% of them have an experience of participation in fulfillment of Programs in the sphere of culture, art, science and education; 13,6% - of participation in charity activities; 12,8% - in rendering assistance to the elderly and veterans; 8,9% - in implementing the environmental protection programs. 8,1% of the students each, respectively, are experienced in helping the people with health limitations and in fulfillment of programs in the sphere of healthy lifestyle propaganda. 4,9% took part in fulfillment of programs in the sphere of health and anti-alcoholism events, 3,2% - in the sphere of protection of childhood and maternity, and 3% participated in other activities. As for the reasons motivating the students to get engaged in various volunteering activities, the leading place belongs to the answer "I wanted to be useful and to help ones in need" - 28,7%. The answer "I wanted to gain some useful skills" ranks second, with 20,9%; and "I wanted to get acquainted with new people, to make friends and to work in a team" – third, with 19,7%. The fourth place (16,2% of the answers) is occupied by the answers "I had enough time". The fifth place (11,3% of the answers) was won by "it was an event for all students". The answer "I wanted to solve a certain social problem" ranks sixth (10,5% of the answers) while "I was asked to participate" – seventh (9,2% of the answers). The options "I have been advised to by a friend / an acquaintance / a teacher" (4,9% of the answers), "other reasons" (3,1% of the 51,2% 22,7% 20,2% 3,6% 2,2% The students' attitude to volunteering Positive Rather positive Neutral Rather negative Difficult to answer Osipova et al. answers) and "I have faced a similar problem too" 1,2% of the answers) got essentially fewer answers of the students. Career Choice The problem of occupational guidance and a conscious career choice has always been relevant (Titma, 1975; Osipov, 2000). Due to this, during the "Social portrait of a contemporary Russian student" (2017) sociological survey, the priorities playing quite a part in their choice of the future career pointed out by the students were of a special interest. The analysis of the students' answers to the question "Could you specify what items below are important exactly for you in your future career?" allows the authors to state the following. When choosing one's future career, the material constituent, the "opportunity to gain high income", is especially important – as recognized by 64,4 % of the students. The "opportunity to fulfill one's potential as much as possible" is quite a significant priority as well (51,8 % of the answers). They are followed by (in the descending order): - "the occupation being up to the student's capacities and abilities" (40,7 % of the answers); - "a creative nature of the occupation" (37,4 % of the answers); - "the opportunity to serve the society" (31,4 %); - "a high prestige of the occupation" (20,4%); - "the opportunity to get a high office and to have access to the power" (13,4%); - "the opportunity to become famous in the field selected" (6,9%); - "a romantic nature of the occupation" (4,9%); - "other" (2,6%). To a certain extent, the mentioned priorities in choosing a future career resonate with the students' ideas about an ideal job. According to the students, an ideal job would be one that allows having enough time for the family and personal life (this was marked by 77,5 % of the students). 74,7 % of the students pay attention to the importance of the atmosphere among the peer employees and the team spirit: for them, work in a well-coordinated collective which lets one feel belonging to it is desirable. The opportunity to maintain good business and formal relationships with the direct authority (71,3 % of the students) is a circumstance of no less Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 56 importance, and so is the opportunity to feel free and independent in one's actions (71,1 % of the students). Being sure of tomorrow and having no fear of losing one's job is also a significant feature of an ideal job (this is essential for 67,4 %) (see Fig. 15). Figure 15. Students' answers to the question "Could you specify what items below are important exactly for you in your future career?" Source: the authors Conclusions and Recommendations On balance, summing up the results of the sociological monitoring of the young students' ideas about social and political processes, socialization institutions and youth policy subjects conducted by the authors (in 2013 – 2017), it can be stated that the events which took place in 2014-2017 (reunion of the Crimea with the Russian Federation, aggravation of geopolitical situation, media war and economic sanctions initiated against Russia) have consolidated the nation, have boosted the growth of national self-consciousness and a patriotic upturn among the young people, in particular, among the students of Moscow higher education institutions. In particular, a positive behavior of evaluation of various phenomena and institutions found during the research gives evidence about a certain political engagement of the Russian young students and growth of their national self-consciousness. The dynamics and the positive trends Osipova et al. mentioned above could be a result of successful youth outreach conducted by various state, religious and social institutions. Anyway, the necessity to actively assist youth in fulfillment of their patriotic impulse and capacity available remains quite urgent. Success of the youth policy being brought into life in Russia will much depend not only on the relevance of methods and means using which the policy is going to be conducted but also on the course of the entire state aimed at consolidation of the society. In their turn, the results of the study "Social portrait of a contemporary Russian student" (conducted at the faculty of sociology of MSU in 2017) have enabled the authors to build the "social portrait of students of the faculty of sociology of MSU", i.e. to get an integrated idea about attitudes and value reference points in different groups of students of this faculty, their performance in various spheres of life activity of the society. Generally the students of the faculty of sociology of MSU are distinguished by such most significant features as: - a positive orientation to work which is viewed not only as a means of "providing for oneself" and "getting independence" but also as a relevant social value. This orientation is evidenced by the facts of part-time employment of the young students (when they are not busy with studies) as well as by a positive attitude toward volunteering – in which about a half of the questioned ones have already participated; - a weighed or critical attitude to various negative phenomena that according to the students are rather widespread among youth – consumerism, imitating the Western lifestyles, careerism, egoism and idle lifestyle; - evidently preferring the Web-based mass information media and using the Internet mainly for communication and search for any information required; - an ambition to make their realistic contribution into the revival of Russia. Thus, the positive factors, features and trends found in the development of ideas of the young students about social and political processes, socialization institutions and youth policy subjects, as well as the "social portrait of students of the faculty of sociology of MSU" compiled by the authors allow making a largely positive forecast concerning the future successful social development, upbringing and socialization of the contemporary Russian young students. What is essential is only to support and develop these trends in every possible way, to tackle problems of Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9 (1), 28-59 58 the youth and to assist them in achieving the social maturity condition – which will naturally serve Russia. References Consultant Plus. (2015). Fundamentals of the state youth policy of the Russian Federation for the period until 2025: approved by the order of the Government of the Russian Federation of November 29, 2014 No. 2403-r. 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