Elite in social networks: new forms of feedback in the digital age

The article presents the data of sociological research of the Russian political elite and its activity in social networks (using the example of the social network “Twitter”). The study was conducted by analyzing a database, containing information about the presence of accounts, subscriptions and the size of the audience, the content of published materials of representatives of the Russian establishment. The object of the study were the deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the VI convocation and of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, senior officials of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, members of the Government of the Russian Federation, heads of Subjects of Federation . The basic indicators of the analysis of online activity of elite have been revealed, it has been analyzed how their activity in social networks affects popularity and authority of the power. The analysis of the presence on Twitter of various groups of the ruling elite (representatives of both executive and legislative bodies of power and administration of the country), their activity, the content of published texts, has been made. The index of authority, reflecting popularity of each representative of establishment in circles of ruling elite has been constructed. The method has allowed us to identify not only leaders of public opinion in a network, but also to find the most influential persons in circles of the persons making the state decisions. A significant delay of the authorities in the use of new technologies to promote their policies has been revealed. The need to develop this sector of communication between the government and society in the digital age is obvious

Contactless sociology: new forms of research in a digital age

Nowadays, digital sociology is becoming a reality. Online surveys, polls without the participation of the respondents based on the analysis of activities in social networks give the sociologist a unique opportunity to conduct a “contactless” research in which the respondent doesn’t know about the interest of the scientist to him. The networks already have all the answers, and the sociologist needs to find the right filters to extract the necessary information from the stream to subject it to intellectual analysis. The results of the political elite studies with the use of network and cluster analysis aimed at studying the activity and behavior of the Russian government official representatives in social networks have been described in the article. The analysis results identified four main clusters: “irreconcilable elite”, “negotiating elite”, “irreconcilable opposition”, “negotiating opposition” and the leaders of each cluster. The silence and closeness of the highest level of the Russian government as a certain political tradition are noted

Social media opinion and people’s elite of Russia

In modern Russian society, there is a gap be-tween the scientific oncept of “elite” and the group, which is usually called “elite” by the common man. The mass consciousness believes that the word “elite” means something of the highest quality, the best. The ruling group of politicians, in relation to which, as a rule, the term “elite” is used today, does not always look worthy in the eyes of society. Such dissonance, prevailing in the public mind, leads to a contradiction: the elite governing the state exists, but its image does not match the criteria of society. This mental shift in understanding what constitutes the pinnacle of society is very dangerous: after all, people who are disappointed in their state, in their ruling elite, experience frustration, their orientation in the social space is violated, where the concepts of “good and bad”, “top and bottom” are blurred. The question arises, how is it possible to reload the concept of “elite” in public opinion? A group of sociologists conducted an all-Russian research “The People’s Elite of Russia”, which aimed to outline the group of society that Russian citizens are ready to consider elite in the highest sense of the word, whom the Russians respect and whom they are proud of. During 329 personal interviews in 55 subjects of the Federation, we collected the names of people who are holding an impeccable reputation in society. The study included only open-ended questions. During the interview, alist of the names of the “heroes” has been compiled. Then their socio-demographic and professional indicators, political views and values have been analyzed. As a result, a portrait of the “people’s elite” was obtained, the description of which is given in this article

The quality of education of the Russian political elite

The article examines educational strategies for the preparation of the domestic ruling class. The authors rely on two semantic concepts: “elite education” (based on the principles of selectivity and academic excellence) and “elitist” (aimed at preparing the establishment, forming social ties and securing status). The goal is to answer a series of interrelated questions. Does elite education exist in Russia? What kind of education, elite and/or elitist, is received by the administrative elite, which the state attracts to the function of management? Is the meritocratic principle of coopting new personnel into the elite realized?In the first stage of the study the authors worked with Russian and international rankings. Elite education  in  Russian  universities  was  defined  as  corresponding  to  three  criteria:  1)  qualitative  according to international experts’ assessments, 2) demanded by applicants with high final examinations  scores,  and  3)  ready  to  pay  for  it.  At  the  second  stage  the  research  was  carried  out  by  the biographical method. The data were based on the results of many years of monitoring the Russian political elite. Authors studied the biographies of 885 people who hold senior positions in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government as of September 01, 2022.The study showed that elite education and elitist education in Russia are not one and the same. A number of universities and separate educational programs which conduct training mainly in mathematical, natural-science directions and information technologies correspond to the international approaches to quality assessment. Representatives of the elite get education in other specialties, or even in universities, which are not present in ratings. This is explained by a number of reasons: the elite is increasingly choosing legal, economic, managerial, diplomatic and military education, which Russian variants are not in demand in the world. The difference in educational trajectories between elite and elitist education also means that the fact of having higher education is important for joining the  elite,  but  not  its  quality.  The  state  does  not  purposefully  attract  graduates  of  the  best  educational programs and universities to public service. Additional factors may be important for entering the elite: capital city accommodation, participation in patron-client relations, belonging to a large corporation.Members of the elite are educated mainly in universities in the capital. The best high school graduates and the resources that families can spend on education move from the periphery to the center. But in the young generation of the elite the situation is beginning to change by increasing the number of universities they graduated from and the geography of its localization.Elite and elitist education today do not coincide, which indicates the incompleteness of the period of formation of the Russian ruling class, as well as the system of social elevators in education

Social network for tourism «Couchsurfing» as a social phenomenon

Any journey is not only a pleasant pastime, but also a way to gain new knowledge. Often a tourist trip requires considerable material costs. Currently, there is a way to save on staying in hotels or hotels throughout the journey. This method has been called Couchsurfing. The relevance of this direction of tourism is particularly increasing in connection with the development of technology and the use of social networks. Couchsurfing promotes cultural exchange and language practice, tolerance and mutual assistance. The article describes a diff ent kind of rationality (social) without receiving monetary payment in an area, where the use of market mechanisms can be beneficial

RESEARCH OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATIONS: THE STATE AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media are widely used by politicized audience and politicians. The article examines the problems of interaction between the state and society on social media. The paper highlights the policy of the Russian state aimed at both stimulating the use of new communication tools and controlling them. It is demonstrated that social media are neutral and the way they display depends on their acquired qualities in the certain political system

A political career for the Internet generation

The article deals with the problem of studying social mobility and classifying “social lifts” in the political sphere. The high relevance of this topic today is due to the growing politicisation of young people, as the result of this the social exclusion of young people is formed. Young people have a strong opinion that “social lifts” don’t exist or work. So young people sublimate their political energy in a protest activity unable to express their positions and interests legally.This article analysed both the political values of contemporary youth based on in-depth interviews (collective and individual) with 164 members of the young generation between the ages of 18 and 30, and the vertical mobility channels known from biographies of successful politicians at federal, regional and municipal levels. By this approach the typical positions from which a political career starts, the “entry points” into politics for newcomers have been identified, the valid mechanisms and institutions for upward mobility have been classified, and links with other career aspects have been revealed.The biographies of 800 officials and deputies throughout Russia (in eight federal districts) have been used and the career trajectories of representatives of government and local authorities have been analysed in the study. The classification of “social lifts” has been presented, their effectiveness and prevalence has been revealed, and links between education, profession, work experience and socio-demographic characteristics have been established

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF CULTURAL SPHERE IN RUSSIA: EXPERT VIEW

As a result of all-Russian expert survey the challenges of cultural management were discussed in order to reveal its weakest points. In the first place, according to the most experts, there is a problem of underfunding, which entails serious consequences such as personnel stagnation, increasing inequality of access to cultural heritage of various strata of the population and regions. In addition, commercialisation of culture lowers its overall level that negatively affects the state of society as a whole. Participants of the survey suggested a range of measures designed to improve the quality of public administration in cultural sector in both law and enforcement aspects. Most experts are convinced that new cultural law which would facilitate an overcoming dramatic inequality is needed

Confucian sociology of managerial knowledge

The article attempts to conceptualize the nature of managerial knowledge in traditional Chinese culture and the possibility of using methodological potential of current sociology of knowledge for this task. The role and significance of cognitive problematics in the history of old China have been formulated, Confucian type of knowledge has been analyzed; the placein this ancient management knowledge has been considered a statement on formation of predetermination of social consciousness of the Chinese has been substantiated. A conclusion on historical significance, productiveness and potential of Confucian sociology for formation of sociocultural mechanism of management of China has been made