Perceptions of Moscow University students of social inequality in Russia and in the modern world

Abstract

This paper deals with an analysis of the results of a sociological research aimed at studying the students’ perceptions of the nature and various forms of social inequality that occur in Russia as well as the modern world. The study was conducted in 2019 at the sociology faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University, in the framework of regular monitoring (since 2013) of Moscow student youth’ perception of socio-political processes, institutions of socialization and subjects of youth policy. A sociological study was conducted. During the study, 811 students of 50 “humanitarian” and 50 “natural” faculties of higher educational institutions in Moscow were interviewed. 45,6% of young people interviewed were males, and 54,4% were females. 60,4% of the respondents were young people aged 18 to 22 years, 18,9% — from 23 to 26 years old, 13,3% — from 14 to 18 years old, 7,4% — from 27 to 30 years old. The article analyzes the students’ answers to the following questions: Do you think that acute social inequality occurs in the modern world? What reasons underlie social inequality? What, in your opinion, is the cause of social inequality? What types of social inequality are most common in the modern world? What forms and types of social inequality are most common in modern Russian society? How often do you encounter the following manifestations of social inequality? How do you feel about the problem of global social inequality? and a number of others. A detailed analysis of the answers to these and other questions presented in the article showed that social inequality is recognized by students as an urgent social problem, which, unfortunately, the authorities do not pay enough attention to.