Political Orientations of Russians: Strategies for Modern Research

Based on a systematic review of 192 scientific articles published from 2019 to 2023. In journals included in the list of peer-reviewed publications of the Higher Attestation Commission of the Russian Federation, two main strategies for studying the political orientations of Russians are distinguished: dominant and critical. Within the first, a consensus was reached that the basis of the political orientations of Russian citizens are ideas that can be united under the leadership of traditionalism and analytically examined in the conceptual prism of moderate conservatism. The authors adhering to the second strategy problematize the accepted interpretation of tradition and aim at revealing the contradictions present in the worldview of Russians, showing the significance of the chronic fragmentation of Russian society. A comparison is also made of the areas of research on political orientations in Russia and in other countries. It is indicated that foreign scientists pay very little attention to Russian political culture itself; the available works are focused on its protest aspects and on the historical context of the formation of its specificity. Unlike their foreign colleagues, Russian scientists are most interested in studying the current political orientations of young people. The author concludes that solutions to some of the most pressing research problems are revealed in the civilizational and other approaches developed by Russian researchers, which contribute to the convergence of both strategies, the unification of their positive potential and at the same time can shed light on what seems to be a long-standing and truly most important and the current problem of the political orientations of Russian society - inconsistency, polarization, fragmentation, which may have taken shape in the civilizational specifics of Russia.