Social and Cultural Traumas of the Contemporary Russian Society

Social and Cultural Traumas of the Contemporary Russian Society


Volkov Yu.G.

Dr. Sci. (Philos.), Prof., Adyghe State University, Institute of Sociology and Regional Studies at the Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia ugvolkov@sfedu.ru

ID of the Article: 9032


For citation:

Volkov Yu.G. Social and Cultural Traumas of the Contemporary Russian Society. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2022. No 3. P. 13-23




Abstract

The article is devoted to the influence of socio-cultural traumas of Russians on the resource capacity of societal development. The author argues for the importance of the long-term socio-cultural traumas impact as factors that slow down the processes of development of Russian society. He analyzes the concept of “sociocultural trauma” used in modern sociological science as well as the main methodological guidelines in the study of the phenomenon of socio-cultural trauma in the objectivist paradigm and in the paradigm of social constructivism showing some difference between them and revealing the research potential of each of them. A significant part of the presentation concerns socio-historical specifics: the author gives a description and analysis of the most traumatic events in history of Russian society, examining their direct impact on the social moods and behavior of Russians. On the basis of the methodological principles of social constructivism the role of the sociocultural environment in the construction of the image of trauma in collective commemorations and its translation is analyzed. Considering the objective grounds of commemorative processes – traumatic events of the past, the author focuses on the situation of social uncertainty that arose as a result of a long period of systemic transformation of Russian society at the end of the twentieth century, justifying the traumatic impact of the state of uncertainty about the present and future as a factor of destructive influence on the social mood of Russians. Based on the data obtained as a result of recent sociological studies carried out by the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the author of the article shows that the traumatization of Russians by social changes and the effects of socio-economic crises is manifested in the spread of social pessimism and disbelief to the possibility of setting and achieving constructive goals particularly development goals at the individual and collective level. As the author concludes, socio-cultural traumas are factors that hinder the social development and formation of personal social creativity among Russians.


Keywords
socio-cultural trauma; uncertainty; commemoration; systemic transformation; development; creativity; detraumatization; socio-cultural environment

References

Caruth C. (1996) Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative and History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Eyerman R. Social theory and trauma. URL: https://sociologica.hse.ru/data/2013/06/04/1285380221/ SocOboz_12_1_07_Eyerman.pdf (аccessed 22.10.21). (In Russ.)

Gorshkov M. K. (2021) On the question of the sociology of mass spiritual formations (theoretical and methodological aspect). Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 2: 3–14. (In Russ.)

Gorshkov M. K. (2019) On the social results of post-Soviet transformations. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 11: 3–17. (In Russ.)

Khapova Z.A. (2016) Social well-being: problems and contradictions of definition in the context of a sociological approach. Vestnik Adygeyskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. [Bulletin of the Adygea State University. Ser. 1: Regional studies: philosophy, history, sociology, law, political science, cultural studies’]. No. 3 (184): 88–94. (In Russ.)

Kozyreva P. M., Smirnov A. I. (2020) Realization of life goals: subjective assessments. In: Gorshkov M. K. (ed.) Russia is reforming: Yearbook: vol. 18. Moscow: New Chronograph. (In Russ.)

Toshchenko Zh. T. Trauma Society: Between Evolution and Revolution (A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis). Moscow: Ves Mir, 2020. (In Russ.)

Toshchenko Zh.T. (2018) Precariat: from a proto-class to a new class. Moscow: Nauka. (In Russ.)

Toshchenko Zh.T. (1998) Social mood – a phenomenon of modern sociological theory and practice. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 1: 21–35. (In Russ.)

Sztompka P. (2001) Social change as a social trauma. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 1–2: 6–16. (In Russ.)

Smelser N. J. (2004) Psychological trauma and cultural trauma. In: Alexander J. C., Eyerman R., Giesen B., Smelser N. J., Sztompka P. Cultural trauma and collective identity. Berkeley: University of California Press: 31–59.

Volkov Yu.G. (2020) The society of trauma: the search for a way of healing (invitation to discussion). Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 9: 16–27]. (In Russ.)

Volkov Yu.G. (2019) Heal the trauma: Book review: Toshchenko Zh. T. Precariat: from proto-class to a new class. Moscow: Nauka. Vestnik RUDN. Seriya Sociologiya [Bulletin of the Peoples‘ Friendship University of Russia. Series: Sociology]. Vol. 19. No. 2: 364–372.

Yakimov K. A. (2020) Transformation of the public consciousness of Soviet youth in the conditions of mass political repressions of 1937–1938. Byuleten’ Tomskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta [Bulletin of Tomsk State University]. No. 188: 203–210.

Content No 3, 2022