The Upper Class as an “Invisible” Stratum: Paradoxes of Studying the Social Structure of Modern Russia
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The article analyzes the paradoxes of studying the upper class in contemporary Russia, which remains an “invisible” stratum within the Russian sociology. The authors identify several key reasons for this: the ideological legacy of the USSR, methodological difficulties, the opaque nature of elites, and the absence of societal consensus on inequality. Drawing on an assessment of stratification models developed by T.Zaslavskaya, L.Belyaeva, O.Shkaratan, and others, the article shows that the Russian sociology long focused on the middle and lower classes while overlooking the upper class. The authors pay a particular attention to the political elite as the principal actor in the formation of a proto-upper class, as well as to processes through which various forms of capital are legitimized and transmitted. They also document the emergence of new research tools — digital methods and big data analytics — that offer opportunities for developing a holistic theory of the upper class. According to the authors’ view, contemporary Russia is entering a concluding stage of the transition period, when the upper class is obtaining clear institutional features. This transformation is evidenced in high concentration of wealth, legal formalization of capital transfer, control over strategic sectors of the economy (energy, banking, and digital infrastructure), network-based mechanisms of reproduction (endogamous marriages and “club” membership), and symbolic hegemony i.e., the capacity to define the norms of the social order. The conclusion outlines promising directions for future research on Russia’s upper class. Overall, the article contributes to debates on social inequality and proposes new analytical frameworks for studying the Russian elite as a systemic phenomenon.
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7166351807
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