Rossiiskii Srednii Klass: Agent Demokratii ili Oplot Konservatisma?

The paper examines the political values of the Russian middle class and in particular, middle class support for democracy. The study demonstrates that middle class is not a homogeneous and cohesive body. Occupational, demographic and spatial divisions have weakened the solidarity of the middle class and questioned its role as a catalyst for democratic change. A crucial divide here is between those members of the middle class who depend on the state for their livelihood and those who work in the non-state sectors of the economy. In contrast to those scholars who see the Russian middle class as a bastion of democracy and a major source of opposition to the Putin regime, this analysis demonstrates that a majority of the members of the middle class support the regime and given the choice will opt for the status quo over the uncertainties of regime change and revolutionary upheavals.