In spite of the fact that the question about designation criteria of the middle class in Russia remains opened and debating as well as the applicability of criteria to the Russian realia remains multivalued we will try to formulate criteria of designation to the middle class.
Social space combines many scopes of activities. The individuum holds a definite position in each of it. Social-economical, social-political and social-cultural scopes are the most important scopes for identification the place of individuum or the group in social stratification. They intercross and the place of individuum or the group in social ranking is being imaged on this scopes.
Group of criteria can be single out for every scope that is being represented by it.
Thus, the social-economical scope is being defined by:
- property which also includes a manufacturing property;
- property management;
- incomings;
- employment by industry sector;
- professional occupation;
- territory of inhabitance.
The social-political scope is being defined by:
- wielding authority;
- compliance of administrative functions in state political and economical spheres.
The social-cultural scope is being defined by:
- educational level;
- qualification;
- self-identification;
- wants;
- interests;
- values;
- prestige;
- living habit and etc. [1, p. 59].
Criteria of designation of the middle class in the social structure of society can also be represented as objective and subjective. Objective criteria includes: income level, education, power, occupation and etc., as quite an objective units of measure underlies it – money, years, number of subordinates. Subjective indexes are: individuum’s self-rating of his social status, circle of contacts, living habit, prestige and etc.
It is worth to notice that today among basic approaches that are being used to determine the middle class in the Russian sociology the next four ones are clearly given accent.
One of them connected with the superstition that the middle class is a mass social (subject that is being characterized by particularly higher living standard and consumption level) – use the per capita income level or existence of specific set of expensive property as the criteria of singling this class out.
The second approach is associated with the research of the middle class in modern Russia that has not only academic but also political value. This approach suppose to determinate the criteria of the middle class for the most part by emphasizing not on the material but on psychological and unique features of individuums as far as they influence in most part over his (theirs) social sense of self, social-political mood and behavior. In that case the middle class is singling out on the basis of self-identification of people, their «self-enrollment» into the middle class.
The third approach is where the middle class divides into the so-termed «new» middle class that includes managers and specialists that are the owners of a high-level human capital assets or the owners of resource of power and «old» middle class – classic «petite bourgeoisie» or the so-called «small business» that collects dividends on its economical capital is an excellent attempt of practical application of such an approach for middle class analysis. The approach can be called as «related to resources» and its fundamentals are: volume, type and structure of the capital which is at somebody’s disposal, at some household disposal and etc.
Finally the fourth approach is connected with the attempt of combined application of traditional criteria of singling out the middle class under the conditions in Russia (specific professional features, education, material-profitable features and self-identification). Occasionally this list of criteria widens. Other criteria that is connected with the capability of the middle class to fulfill any associated functions – «the stabilizer» of social-political and economical life, «the supplier» of high qualified work force, «the distributor» of new social-economical and social-cultural praxises, national culture bearer and etc. is being added into it [2].
More often in professional literature the middle class is defined by such basic criteria as:
- educational and income level;
- consumer standards;
- owning of corporeal and intellectual property;
- capacity of highly skilled labor;
- self-identification as the representative of «social middle class».
The presence of «non-material» signs of belonging to the middle class where the maximum value attaches to confidence in the future and warm existence in one’s old age, capability to maintain health by receiving qualified treatment seems to be interesting.
Of all the above listed criteria of defining the middle class more disputes and debates accrue to incomes.
According to estimates of the CSR (Centre of Strategic Research) the lower bound that allows to refer the household to the middle class today is the yearly income in the amount of nearly 600 000 rubles per family (20 000 $). In big cities this income is higher and amounts to 900 000 rubles (30 000 $). Upper bound of the middle class is the income that amounts to 9 000 000 rubles per family (300 000 $). But the question about the number of such family members remains opened.
It is worth to notice that the figures are controversial and considerable vary in professional literature.
Definition of creative class corresponds to the similar scopes which are being focused on by the developers of «Strategy 2020» who named it as the main Russian economic engine. [3] In their opinion this are people of «creative work that in the course of usual work create innovations» «Creative class is able to offer something new to society and unlike the middle class it has higher
According to the data of the CSR in 2011 income greater then 600 000 rubles per family (20 000 $) had approximately 15 000 000 families and that is 29 % of the population. If we consider income of the lower bound of the middle class that amounts to 900 000 rubles (30 000 $) in a year per family, then following the results of 2011 18 % of the population or 9 500 000 families referred to it. The income greater then 9 000 000 rubles (300 000$) yearly per family had 237 000 families or 0,5 % of the population. 29 000 families or less then 0,1 % of the Russian population could make boast of their income of more than 1 000 000 $ in a year.
Therefore Russia has its own specific middle class other than the western one. Objectively the material criteria between Russian middle class and its European analog varies significantly. However the homegrown middle class fulfills a variety of functions that are essential to develop the society.
Generally the middle class has fairly high level of education and culture and also plays stabilizing role in social-political life of Russia and is capable to express vital interests of strong majority of the citizens.
The work is submitted to the International Scientific Conference «Implementation of integrated model of educational institutions, implements educational programs different levels of education», Republic of Singapore, December, 10-17, 2013, came to the editorial office оn 18.11.2013