Transformation of Value Orientations of Russian Youth: on the Issue of Stability of Russia Against the Background of Confrontation with the Countries of the World of the West

Abstract

Relevance. The ongoing confrontation between Russia and Western countries makes the study of the role of youth and youth public organizations in the stability of the socio-political and social development of our country more and more relevant. Taking into account the ongoing events, it is necessary to consider the process of transforming the value orientations of modern Russian youth and its impact on the stability of our country and the activities of youth public organizations.The purpose – to carry out a comparative analysis of the value orientations of Soviet/Russian youth and the trends of their development since the end of the XX century to the present and their impact on the stability of Russia against the background of confrontation with the countries of the Western world.Objectives: analyze the historical orientation of the value orientations of young people in the late USSR; carry out an analysis of the value orientations of the youth of the new Russia (1991-2000); consider the consequences of the transformation of value orientations of young people for the stability of Russia (2000-2023).Methodology. We used data from Rosstat on demography, secondary analysis of data on the results of research by the WCIOM Sociological Service (1992-2023), the Center for Labor Research of the Higher School of Economics (HSE) on youth issues, analysis of scientific materials published in scientific journals, historical documents of the period under study, methods of comparison and analogy.Results. Since the 80s of the XX century, the value orientations of domestic youth have been transformed towards the Western cult of consumption, which was the basis for various negative manifestations, participation in the destructive protest activities of individual youth public organizations. The situation began to change in the early 2000s, when more and more young people began to think about the need to restore traditional moral norms and values. The coronavirus pandemic and a special military operation in Ukraine had a particularly serious impact on the transformation of the value orientations of modern youth.Conclusions. The transformation of the value orientations of modern Russian youth towards a return to traditional values is a positive factor for the stability of the development of our country.