A state boasting subjectness and progress produces values, meanings, knowledge, and institutions, constantly adapting them to the needs of the society and keeping them in line with the global world order. What does Russia look like in this sense? What are its socio-economic and political vectors? Why is its collective consciousness dominated by a paternalistic way of life and an egalitarian understanding of justice, as opposed to the Western model of «equal opportunities»? Is Russia really destined by history to follow a certain «special path» of development? Then what is its essence? What do we lack in order to approach the quality of life typical for developed democracies?
In this book, a well-known economist and professor offers a dynamic overview of events in the country during the post-perestroika quarter of century. Extensive factology and statistics, author’s analysis of various aspects of Russian life help to understand the complex and contradictory picture of our reality, and to present possible scenarios of Russia’s development.