Are Russian Capitals Most Upgraded? (Paradoxes of Settlement Differentiation)

Abstract

Differentiation of access security of Russians to information-cultural content and cultural characteristics of residents of different types of settlements is considered. Statistics 1970–2020s shows that the differences in the information and cultural infrastructure of various types of settlements were largely smoothed out (although not completely eliminated) in the late Soviet era. However, the absence of qualitative differences between different types of settlements in access to the main channels of constant broadcasting of information and cultural content is combined, according to sociological surveys organized by the Institute of Sociology of the Federal Scientific Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, with the preservation of culturally determined significant differences in the consumption of these contents. This is a factor in the reproduction of the differences between modern Russians living in different types of settlements in terms of adherence to different cultural values and attitudes. As expected, in accordance with the theories of urbanization and modernization, the urban population in Russia in the 21st century is somewhat more committed to the values of modern society (freedom, innovation, etc.) than the rural population. At the same time, the data of the all- Russian sociological survey conducted in 2021 showed strong differences depending on the type of urban settlement. The most advanced in terms of modernization are residents of cities with a population of 0.5–1.0 million people, i.e. far from the most urbanized settlements. Unexpectedly, the cultural values of the inhabitants of the two Russian capitals turned out, in terms of compliance with the norms of modern society, by no means the most advanced. An inverted U-shaped model of sociologically identifiable cultural settlement differences shows the incompleteness of cultural modernization in post-Soviet Russia, which forms the most important components of social capital.