Country Folk in Russia: Specific of Social Integration

Abstract

The article presents the analysis of social integration factors of the country folk, living in four rural areas in Belgorod region (Russia). The study had two stages and included quantitative as well as qualitative research methods: first of all, the survey (n = 715) of country people aged 18–70 in order to explore the specific features of their social integration process; secondly, the expert survey (n = 23) devoted to study the activities of main social agents, managing regional social policy and including government and non-government organizations. As a result, the main factors, influencing the effectiveness of social integration of the country folk have been identified: 1) the maintenance of traditions and an active participation in rural community's life; 2) the infrastructure's development and the transportation accessibility; 3) the economy's type; 4) the type of settlement (town, village); 5) the degree of trust in local authorities and the assessment of local social services' activities. It is essential to take into account that the current processes of social integration of the country people, on the one hand, are due to the consequences of urbanization as a world trend and, on the other hand, it is due to the influence of a new, reverse process of de-urbanization. The results of the study conclude that current state social policy should be more effective to bridge the gap between the social conditions of people living in cities and rural areas, especially with regard to the access to education, health and social services, transportation, employment, etc. The improvement of quality of life of villagers allows to revive the most of rural settlements and attract youth to village.