Is there a third lost generation in Russia?
Research Article
How to Cite
Rusakova M.M., Tkach S. Is there a third lost generation in Russia?. Science. Culture. Society. 2025. Vol. 31. No. 3. P. 56-71. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/nko.2025.31.3.4 (in Russ.).
Abstract
In the recent history of Russia, it is customary to distinguish two “lost generations” — whose youth fell on the turn of the 1960s–1970s and the 1980s of the twentieth century. A number of contemporary researchers put forward hypotheses about the possible formation of a new, third lost generation. Among the grounds for such assumptions are the growth of alienation in the context of digital society, the transformation of values, and difficulties in social self-realization. To test the stated hypothesis, the authors conducted an empirical study within a quantitative paradigm: a representative telephone survey of Russian residents was carried out in July–September 2022 (N=2500). For analysis, questionnaires of respondents aged 18 to 35 were selected (n=840). The results of cluster analysis revealed three stable youth groups. The first cluster (56.9% of respondents) is characterized by an optimistic assessment of contemporary conditions as the most favorable for self-realization; its representatives evaluate youth as hardworking, striving for knowledge and high ideals, and problems among their peers, according to their assessments, occur rarely. The second cluster (29.4% of respondents), on the contrary, experiences alienation from contemporary society: youth are perceived as lacking initiative and ideals, and respondents’ peers, in their opinion, face a wide range of difficulties, primarily related to housing and material well-being. The third cluster (13.7% of respondents) believes that modern society provides youth with the best opportunities for development, yet considers that youth do not seek to take advantage of them, demonstrating absenteeism. The relatively small size of the second cluster does not allow one to speak of the formation of a new lost generation. The results obtained contribute to the existing academic discussion on the possible causes of youth radicalization, as well as the prevalence of the phenomenon of learned helplessness.
Keywords:
youth, life world, self-regulation, life failures, life strategies, lost generation, alienation
References
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35. Chuprov V. I., Zubok Yu. A., Lyubutov A. S., Sorokin O. V. Self-regulation of life of the youth: structural-taxonomic modeling. Sociological Studies. 2021;(10):23–36. (In Russ.). DOI 10.31857/S013216250014766-5.
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38. Capelos T., Nield E., Salmela M. Narratives of success and failure in ressentiment: Assuming victimhood and transmuting frustration among young Korean men. Social sciences. 2023;12(5):259. DOI 10.3390/socsci12050259.
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41. Noelle-Neumann E. Öffentliche Meinung: Die Entdeckung der Schweigespirale. Moscow: Progress-Akademija, Ves’ Mir; 1996. (In Russ.). ISBN 5-85864-035-4.
2. Malchukova N. N., Kulikova S. V. Formation of professional self-determination in the perspective of professional dynasties. Agro-food policy in Russia. 2017;(12):174–178. (In Russ.).
3. Srinivas V. Explaining the increase in young adults living with parents. Journal of Economic Issues. 2019;53(4):1017–1028. DOI 10.1080/00213624.2019.1664237.
4. Trufanova E. O. The subject: challenges of the digital. Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies. 2024;6(4):215–234. (In Russ.). DOI 10.46539/gmd.v6i4.525.
5. Tikhonova I. U., Kravets A. S. Parasocial relations in the modern world. Proceedings of Voronezh State University. Series: Philosophy. 2022;(1):41–49. (In Russ.).
6. Zubok Yu. A., Lyubutov A. S. Youth in the socio-cultural reality of Russian society: semantic determinants of self-regulation. Rossija reformirujushhajasja. 2022;(20):339–378. (In Russ.). DOI 10.19181/ezheg.2022.13.
7. Saganenko G. I., Geger A. E., Boyarsky K. K. [et al.]. The potential of reflective technology in the study of a changing society. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Sociology. 2020;13(1):40–54. (In Russ.). DOI 10.21638/spbu12.2020.103.
8. Maltseva V. A., Shabalin A. I. The non-bypass trajectory, or the boom in demand for TVET in Russia. Educational Studies Moscow. 2021;(2):10–42. (In Russ.). DOI 10.17323/1814-9545-2021-2-10-42.
9. Standing G. The precariat: the new dangerous class. Moscow: Ad Marginem; 2014. (In Russ.). ISBN 978-5-91103-209-8.
10. Wang Sh., Zhdanova L. A. The "lost generation" in modern Russian-language journalistic discourse. Litera. 2023;(3):1–10. (In Russ.). DOI 10.25136/2409-8698.2023.3.39866.
11. Galinskaya I. L. "The Lost Generation" and Gertrude Stein. Culturology. 2016;(4):56–59. (In Russ.).
12. Slezin A. A. Social expectations from communism formation in the early 1960s. Science Prospects. 2013;(9):74–76. (In Russ.).
13. Sinitsyn F. L. The Concept of ‘Developed Socialism’ as response of the USSR to ideological and socio-economic challenges of the time (1964–1982). Izvestiya of Saratov University. History. International Relations. 2022;22(1):29–39. (In Russ.). DOI 10.18500/1819-4907-2022-22-1-29-39.
14. Gogina L. P. The writings of Vladimir Makanin in the communicative dialogue of the epochs of troubled times: the social status of the "lost generation". Communicology (Russia). 2019;7(1):143–151. (In Russ.). DOI 10.21453/2311-3065-2019-7-1-143-151.
15. Ryaposov A. Yu. "Playing god" as a meta-plot of the screen works of M. A. Zakharov. Bulletin of the Vaganova Ballet Academy. 2020;(5):126–135. (In Russ.).
16. Anninskii L. The Sixties Generation, The Seventies Generation, The Eighties Generation… Toward a Dialectic of the Generations in Russian Literature. Soviet Studies in Literature. 1991;27(4):11–28. DOI 10.2753/RSL1061-1975270411.
17. Lipovetskii M. The Sovok Blues: The Writers of the Sixties Today. Russian Studies in Literature. 1998;34(3):5–27. DOI 10.2753/RSL1061-197534035.
18. Kanina S. Yu., Kuchumova G. V. Mage of the second "lost generation" in the latest novel (K. Kracht Faserland, S. Minaev Gudless). Vestnik of Samara University. History, pedagogics, philology. 2016;(1):130–135. (In Russ.).
19. Yurchak A. It Was Forever, Until It Ended. The Last Soviet Generation. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie; 2016. (In Russ.). ISBN 978-5-4448-0190-1.
20. Radaev V. V. Farewell to the Soviet Ordinary Man! Social Sciences and Contemporary World (ONS). 2018;(3):51–65. (In Russ.). DOI 10.7868/S0869049918030048.
21. Omelchenko E. L. Forgotten generation X. A Retrospective look from the future. Interaction. Interview. Interpretation. 2024;16(2):10–28. (In Russ.). DOI 10.19181/inter.2024.16.2.1.
22. Williams Ch., Chuprov V., Zubok Yu. Youth, risk and Russian modernity. Aldershot (Hants): Ashgate; 2003. ISBN 1-85521-915-8.
23. Tretyakov V. T. The epoch stagnation – the “Goldage” for USSR and Russia. Filosofija hozjajstva. 2009;(5):239–251. (In Russ.).
24. Sadykova Kh. N. Geneziz scientific ideas about the generation as a sociocultural phenomena. Modern problems of science and education. 2015;(1-2):213. (In Russ.).
25. Sumskaya A. S. "Digital natives" as a new Russian "lost generation"? Znak: problemnoe pole mediaobrazovanija. 2022;(2):171–183. (In Russ.). DOI 10.47475/2070-0695-2022-10221.
26. Vasilyeva V. A. The Strauss-Howe theory and other generational concepts as a basis for analyzing the phenomenon of plagiarism among students. Sotsial'no-gumanitarnye znaniya. 2023;(7):13-18. (In Russ.).
27. Ivanov D. V., Asochakov Yu. V. Digitalization and critical theory of society. Sociological Studies. 2023;(6):16–28. (In Russ.). DOI 10.31857/S013216250024389-0.
28. Mikirtumov I. The Time of Work and the Time of Leisure: Alienation in the Era of Digitalization. Stasis. 2022;10(1):38–76. (In Russ.).
29. Chuprov V. I., Mikheeva V. V. Trust in self-regulation of social interactions in conditions of uncertainty. Why is there no peace in Ukraine. Moscow: Norma; 2015. (In Russ.). ISBN 978-5-91768-587-8.
30. Chuprov V. I., Zubok Yu. A., Romanovich N. A. Trust in self-regulation of a changing social reality. Moscow: Norma; 2019. (In Russ.). ISBN 978-5-91768-995-1.
31. Zubok Yu. A., Chuprov V. I. Youth in the cultural space: self-regulation of life activity. Moscow: Norma; 2020. (In Russ.). ISBN 978-5-00156-082-1.
32. Zubok Yu. A., Seliverstova N. A. Sociocultural attitudes in the self-regulation of youth's ideas about the future. Science. Culture. Society. 2024;30(4):112–133. (In Russ.). DOI 10.19181/nko.2024.30.4.8.
33. Zubok Yu. A., Seliverstova N. A. Essential components of the image of the future of the country in the representations of the youth. Science. Culture. Society. 2022;28(4):56–74. (In Russ.). DOI 10.19181/nko.2022.28.4.5.
34. Zubok Yu. A., Seliverstova N. A. Youth views about the future of the country in the projection of culture. Science. Culture. Society. 2023;29(3):39–52. (In Russ.). DOI 10.19181/nko.2023.29.3.1.
35. Chuprov V. I., Zubok Yu. A., Lyubutov A. S., Sorokin O. V. Self-regulation of life of the youth: structural-taxonomic modeling. Sociological Studies. 2021;(10):23–36. (In Russ.). DOI 10.31857/S013216250014766-5.
36. Nilan P., Roose J., Peucker M., Turner B. S. Young masculinities and right-wing populism in Australia. Youth. 2023;3(1):285–299. DOI 10.3390/youth3010019.
37. Milosav Ð., Dickson Z., Hobolt S. B. [et al.] The youth gender gap in support for the far right. Journal of European Public Policy. 2025:1–25. DOI 10.1080/13501763.2025.2481181.
38. Capelos T., Nield E., Salmela M. Narratives of success and failure in ressentiment: Assuming victimhood and transmuting frustration among young Korean men. Social sciences. 2023;12(5):259. DOI 10.3390/socsci12050259.
39. Krasikov V. I. Online radicalization of youth: prerequisites and mechanisms. Tomsk State University Journal of Philosophy, Sociology and Political Science. 2024(80):108–122. (In Russ.). DOI 10.17223/1998863X/80/10.
40. Vinogradov M. Yu., Suslova A. A. The phenomenon of social apathy and its relevance in modern Russia. Journal of Political Theory, Political Philosophy and Sociology of Politics “Politeia”. 2022:(4):123–145. (In Russ.). DOI 10.30570/2078-5089-2022-107-4-123-145.
41. Noelle-Neumann E. Öffentliche Meinung: Die Entdeckung der Schweigespirale. Moscow: Progress-Akademija, Ves’ Mir; 1996. (In Russ.). ISBN 5-85864-035-4.
Article
Received: 01.08.2025
Accepted: 29.09.2025
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:
APA
Rusakova, M. M., & Tkach, S. (2025). Is there a third lost generation in Russia?. Science. Culture. Society, 31(3), 56-71. https://doi.org/10.19181/nko.2025.31.3.4
Section
Research of socio-cultural processes in civil society
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