Horizons of Future Planning in the Assessments of Russian Students in the Conditions of Civilizational Confrontation Between Russia and the West

The article presents the results of a sociological survey of Russian students about their views on the individual future and the future of Russian society. The following indicators of the image of the individual and collective future formed in the minds of Russian students were studied: the dynamics of social well-being, ideas about the present and future geopolitical role of Russia, assessment of the development of social and political systems, emigration potential of student youth, value profile of its representatives, their ideas about their place in the system of social relations of Russia of the future. The dominance of positive and constructive assessments of the current state of affairs and the country’s development strategy among Russian students was revealed. Along with the predominance of students’ awareness of the leading role of Russia in solving global problems as one of the geopolitical centers, student youth understood the absolute priority of sovereignty and independence of the state, even to the detriment of some indicators of socio-economic development. At the same time, microsociality and focus on the interests of the immediate environment remain the prevailing focus in comparison with the public good. Students with different profiles of attitudes to the geopolitical role of the country demonstrate a significant difference in the semantic content of the horizon of planning the future. Those who consider Russia to be a leading geopolitical player have the most responsible and constructive position in the process of planning the horizons of the future, their place in achieving the desired future. The segment of students who limit Russia to the role of the leader of the post-Soviet space and do not believe that the country influences world processes should be recognized as a profile with significant limits in the formation of a conventional strategy for building the future in the system of public relations. In working with these students, it is important for universities to consider the strategy of their information behavior, to develop competencies in the competent analysis of modern digital resources, as well as the skills of understanding current geopolitical challenges and interpreting the strategy of external network actors in connection with the intensifying civilizational confrontation.

1. Shestopal, E.B., Rogach, N.N. (2022). Images of Russia’s Present and Future in the Political Consciousness of Its Citizens. Obshchestvennye nauki i sovremennost’= Social Sciences and Modernity. No. 6, pp. 45-61, doi: 10.31857/S0869049922060041 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

2. Vilkov, A.A. (2020). Images of the Future in Political Science and Public Discourses of Modern Russia. Izvestiya Saratovskogo universiteta. Novaya seriya. Seriya: sotsiologiya. Politologiya = Proceedings of the Saratov University. A New Series. Series: Sociology. Political Science. No. 1, pp. 64-68, doi: 10.18500/1818-9601-2020-20-1-64-68 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

3. Shchegol’kova, E.Yu., Endryushko, A.A. (2021). [Key Consolidators of Russian Identity]. In: Izvestiya Saratovskogo universiteta. Novaya seriya. Seriya: sotsiologiya. Politologiya [Substantial Foundations of Russian Identity. Regional and Ethnocultural Contexts]. Moscow: FNISTs RAN. 288 p., doi: 10.19181/monogr.978-5-89697-374-4.2021 (In Russ.).

4. Komarovsky, V.S., Belyakov, A.A., Borisko, O.A., Ekshina, M.D., Il’icheva, L.E., et al. (2021). Obraz budushchego Rossii glazami molodezhi [The Image of the Future of Russia Through the Eyes of Youth]. Moscow: Aspect Press. 224 p. ISBN: 978-5-7567-1113-4. (In Russ.).

5. Shabrov, O.F., Komleva, V.V., Volodenkov, S.V., Gadzhiev, Kh.A., Guliev, I.A. (2022). Stability and Stability of States in the Digital Age. Rossiya i mir: nauchnyi dialog = Russia and the World: Scientific Dialogue. No. 2 (4), pp. 204-223, doi: 10.53658/RW2022-2-2(4)-204-223 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

6. Smul’kina, N.V., Rogach, N.N. (2022). Images of Russia’s Past, Present, and Future: The Symbolic Dimension. Kontury global’nykh transformatsii: politika, ekonomika, pravo = Contours of Global Transformations: Politics, Economics, Law. No. 5, pp. 89-106, doi: 10.31249/kgt/2022.05.05 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

7. Dombrovskaya, A.Yu., Ognev, A.S. (2025). The Possibilities of a Projective Experiment in Forming a Strategy for Information Support of Future Policy. Srednerusskii vestnik obshchestvennykh nauk = Central Russian Bulletin of Social Sciences. No. 1, pp. 108-123, doi: 10.22394/2071-2367-2025-20-1-108-123 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

8. Zubok, Yu.A., Seliverstova, N.A. (2022). Semantic Components of the Image of the Future of the Country in the Representations of Youth. Nauka. Kul’tura. Obshchestvo = Science. Culture. Society. No. 4, pp. 56-74, doi: 10.19181/nko.2022.28.4.5 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

9. Petukhov, R.V. (2025). Images and Ideas about the Future in the Dynamics of Mass Consciousness of Russians in 2014-2023. Sotsiologicheskaya nauka i sotsial’naya praktika = Sociological Science and Social Practice. No. 1, pp. 7-24, doi: 10.19181/snsp.2025.13.1.1 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

10. Palitai, I.S. (2022). The Image of the Present and Future of Russia in the Minds of Moscow Students. Abyss (Voprosy filosofii, politologii i sotsial’noi antropologii) = Abyss (Issues of Philosophy, Political Science and Social Anthropology). No. 2 (20), pp. 12-18. Available at: https://elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_49018898_18074624.pdf (accessed 17.05.25). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

11. Shaikhislamov, R.B., Asadullina, G.R., Sadretdinova, G.R. (2023). The Image of Russia of the Present and the Future in the Representations of Youth: Semantic Themes in the Context of New Challenges and Opportunities. Society and Security Insights. No. 1, pp. 13-31, doi: 10.14258/SSI(2023)1-01 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

12. Lavrikova, A.A., Shumilova, O.E. (2022). The Image of the Country’s Future in the Perception of Various Groups of Russian Society. Izvestiya Tul’skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Gumanitarnye nauki = Proceedings of Tula State University. Humanities. No. 3, pp. 39-49, doi: 10.24412/2071-6141-2022-3-39-49 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

13. Malenkov, V.V., Farakhutdinov, S.F. (2019). The Future of Russia in the Views of Post-Soviet Youth. Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedenii. Sotsiologiya. Ekonomika. Politika = News of Higher Educational Institutions. Sociology. Economy. Politics. No. 3, pp. 107-118. Available at: https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=40645600 (accessed 17.05.25). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

14. Usmanova, Z.R., Smulkina, N.V. (2023). Actualization of Images of the Past in the Ideas of Citizens about the Future of Russia. Politicheskaya nauka = Political Science. No. 2, pp. 254-272, doi: 10.31249/poln/2023.02.11 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

15. Shcheglova, D.K., Maksimova, S.G., Noyanzina, O.E., Velikzhanina, K.A. (2024). The Image of the Future of Russia from the Perspective of Civil Identification of the Population of Border Regions. Virtual’naya kommunikatsiya i sotsial’nye seti = Virtual Communication and Social Networks. No. 2 (10), pp. 169-183, doi: 10.21603/2782-4799-2024-3-2-169-183 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

16. Tokarev, A.A. (2024). The Mass Consciousness of Russian Youth: The Image of the Future. Polis. Politicheskie issledovaniya = Polis. Political Research. No. 6, pp. 154-169, doi: 10.17976/jpps/2024.06.11 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

17. Voronin, G.L., Golubin, R.V., Korotyshev, A.P., Murzina, I.A., Retinskaya, V.N., et al. (2024). Obraz budushchego rossiiskogo gosudarstva v soznanii sovremennoi molodezhi: politicheskaya teoriya i praktika [The Image of the Future Russian State in the Minds of Modern Youth: Political Theory and Practice]. Nizhniy Novgorod: Nizhny Novgorod State University named after N.I. Lobachevsky. 193 p. Available at: https://elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_73076437_60833413.pdf (accessed 15.05.25). (In Russ.).

18. Batanina, I.A., Lavrikova, A.A., Shumilova, O.E. (2025). The Image of the Future in the Perception of Youth as an Indicator of Social Integration of Society. Izvestiya Tul’skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Nauki o zemle = Proceedings of Tula State University. Earth Sciences. No. 1, pp. 880-888. Available at: https://elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_80524066_33835885.pdf (accessed 15.05.25). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

19. Brodovskaja, E.V., Lukushin, V.A. (2024). The Role of External Network Actors in the Formation of Protest Attitudes of Social Media Users in Russia. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Serija 12: Politicheskie nauki = Moscow University Bulletin. Series 12. Political Science. No. 2, pp. 94-113, doi: 10.55959/MSU0868-4871-12-2024-2-2-94-113 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

20. Veber, M. (2021). Ponimajushhaja sociologija [Understanding Sociology]. Moscow: AST. 480 p. ISBN: 978-5-17-135706-1. (In Russ.).