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Based on the analysis of the results of qualitative and quantitative sociological research, the article characterises the influence of the center-peripheral stratification of regions on the stability degree of the social identity of the population in the capitals of the republics within the Russian Federation – on the example of Saransk, the administrative center of the Republic of Mordovia, and Izhevsk, the administrative center of the Udmurt Republic. The author evaluates the differences in the central-peripheral self-identification of the elites and the population of the republics, due to differences in the “scale effect” of the resource provision of the republics, as a significant component of the metropolitan identity of the central cities of the republics as “centers for the implementation of other people’s initiatives.” For example, the status of Izhevsk as the largest city is expressed not only in its comparison to medium-sized cities in the Udmurt Republic, but also in competition with large industrial cities in other regions. The contrast example of the negative impact of the scale effect is demonstrated by Mordovia as a relatively small (with a population of less than a million people) and low-resource region with its capital city of Saransk. The formation of a highly polarized population structure in such a region with a single large city in the absence of medium-sized ones does not prevent a negative comparison with the capital cities of more developed and large regions, forming an idea of their own non-competitiveness and periphery in relation to the largest cities, along with a willingness to join the administrative regions they manage, even at the cost of losing their central status. The results of the study explain the phenomenon of blurring the republican identity among the population of the capital cities of some republics and the dysfunction in their social development, which is expressed in their transformation from the “locomotives of modernization” of the republics into the donors of human resources for more developed regions.

Introduction. The importance of exploring the specificity of shaping the historical memory among young people is due to the fact that it is this age that is crucial in the formation of worldview attitudes and civic identity. In modern geopolitical conditions, when the falsification of historical events of Russia's past takes place, the analysis of the factors of studentsʼ involvement in the space of historical practices and narratives that influence the formation of their historical memory is especially important. The aim of the article is to measure the level of students' involvement in the space of historical practices and narratives on the basis of quantitative and qualitative sociological research data; to identify the factors influencing the historical memory of student youth in the Republic of Mordovia. Materials and Methods. The empirical basis of the study constituted the findings derived from 20 semi-structured interviews with young people between 18 and 25 years old, as well as the results of an online survey held among university and secondary educational institutions learners in the Republic of Mordovia (n = 700). Multistage composite sampling. Results. Based on cluster analysis, three groups of student youth were identified according to the level of involvement in the space of historical practices and narratives. The relationship between belonging to a specific cluster and socio-demographic factors is presented: gender, level of education and place of residence turned out to be significant. Among the factors influencing the level of involvement in historical practices and narratives are cognitive interest in history, family memories, and active use of media. It has been established that the significance of these factors in shaping the historical memory of young people may vary. The most significant factors are historical education (at secondary school, vocational education institution, university), the role of teacher as a mediator of historical knowledge, as well as the continuity and depth of family memory. Discussion and Conclusion. The results of the study determine the factors of student youth involvement in the space of historical practices and narratives and supplement the sociological understanding of the processes of constructing the historical memory. The materials of the article may be of interest to specialists engaged in patriotic education, historical education of youth, practitioners involved in the development of youth policy.

The review contains a brief overview of the content of the monograph by G.I. Makarova “The Image of Tatarstan in the Strategies of Regional Elites and in the Public Consciousness.” The book is based on the results of a sociological research in 2013–2019 in the Republic of Tatarstan. The author of the review draws attention to the complex and systemic nature of G.I. Makarova research work, confirmed by the synthesis of theoretical approaches to the problems of ethnic and regional identity, the image of territories, as well as the triangulation of methods. It is noted that the conclusions of the monograph are based on the results of several sociological methods – mass and expert surveys, in-depth interviews, analysis of official documents, and case studies. It is concluded that in the monograph G.I. Makarova developed a conceptual model for the analysis of the republican policy in the field of region branding and a methodology for sociological study of the results of its application. The conclusions and practical recommendations made by the author regarding the content of this policy and its social consequences, according to the reviewer, go beyond the boundaries of the Republic of Tatarstan. They can be used to study similar issues in other republics within the Russian Federation, while improving branding strategies and identity policies.

The article, based on online observation data, analyzes the activities of Orthodox bloggers in modern Russian society in the conceptual framework of the theories of secularization, post-secular society and the mediatization of religion. The authors identify the main areas of activity of Orthodox bloggers, specify the forms of their interaction with official confessional mass media, assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the information policy of the Russian Orthodox Church. After the COVID-19 pandemic, information policy is being liberalized and restrictions are being lifted from the online activities of proactive Orthodox clergy looking for new approaches to the external and internal mission of Orthodoxy. There are two main directions of Orthodox blogging: catechetical and educational; the formation of public opinion in the circles of the Orthodox clergy and the affirmation of the value of social solidarity. In the first case, the modernization of the social practices of the clergy is expressed in introducing the audience of “new media” to religion and educational influence on it, in addition to the usual examples of bilateral interaction, in the second — in increasing the authority of the clergy-bloggers as media personalities and the opportunity to use near-church sites for informal public control over the activities of the church leadership. As a result of the activity of active blogger priests, a network environment of assistants, volunteers and consultants (IT specialists, psychologists, lawyers, etc.) arises around parishes, hierarchical organizations in their essence.

Introduction. The article summarizes the results of a study of social practices and narratives of the commemoration of the victims of mass political repression in the village of Kruglyi (the Republic of Mordovia) that was established as a permanent settlement in the period of collectivization. Materials and Methods. The theoretical framework of the study consists of social theories of “memory sites” and collective trauma. The method of collecting empirical data corresponded to case study, including observation, in-depth interviews and discourse analysis of media publications. The data were analyzed using the methods of thick ethnographic description and narrative discourse analysis. Results and Discussion. The article reviews the social context of local commemoration; identifies the main stages and practices of creating a “place of memory” in the village of Kruglyi by constructing a self-made monument of stained oak with a memorial plaque, and its subsequent mediatization. The authors analyze local discourses and narratives of social memory and material aspects of commemoration; regional, identify national and international mnemonic actors, acting as agents of the process of cultural trauma. They reveal and interpret the content of competing narratives of victimization and devictimization of the local community. Conclusion. Based on the data obtained in the course of fieldwork, the authors deconstruct media of the history of the village and identify two different models of its description. They conclude that these models are conditioned by various models of commemorating social trauma: one is “therapeutic”, focused more on deprivation and the loss of group identity; another one is “macrohistoric”, or in other words based on interpreting trauma as an aspect of social transformation seen as a process containing prerequisites for working the trauma out.

Introduction. The paper is devoted to the theoretically and practically relevant issue of constructing the social identity of the administrative centers of the Russian republics, considered by the authors as one of the factors of positive regional self-identification of the population of the republics. The purpose of the article is, based on the materials of the study, to identify the specifics and factors in the formation of the capital’s identity of the republic within the Russian Federation on the example of Saransk (the Republic of Mordovia). Materials and Methods. The empirical basis of the article consists of the data of quantitative (mass survey of the population of Saransk, n = 443) and qualitative (2 focus groups) field studies carried out in November-December 2020, with the help of which specific features, main structural components and factors of formation of a positive metropolitan identity have been identified. Results. In the structure of the capital identity of the population of Saransk, the system-forming component is identification with the capital status of the city, indirectly based on identification with the status of Mordovia as a republic and its representations in the urban environment. The paper demonstrates that a positive identification with the republican capital is formed on the basis of not so much symbolic politics but factors that create urban identity in general, including economic success and the quality of the urban environment. Discussion and Conclusions. The authors conclude that the main limitations of the formation and maintenance of the capital identity of Saransk are associated with a shortage of urban identity in general, due to a low assessment of the state and prospects, a low level of self-organization at the place of residence and the rotation of the urban population in each generation, which forms the “transit city” identity for a part of the population. The basis of urban identity in Saransk, as in larger cities, is made up of networks of “weak ties”, but the quality of the urban environment, in the opinion of its residents, does not contribute to the formation and development of such contacts. On the basis of results of researches, the authors claim the necessity of studying of city activism for the cities which are not among largest, as an independent research problem.

Introduction. The article analyzes the results of the sociological research undertaken by the authors in 2018 within the framework of the research project “Social Projects of the Russian Orthodox Church” in terms of comparing motivation, social technologies and social consequences of implementing Orthodox social projects in the capital and other regions of Russia in order to identify factors contributing to and hindering their successful implementation at the regional level. The purpose of the empirical research was to identify the social functions fulfilled in the process of developing and implementing social projects by organizations within the structure of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), as well as by lay organizations created and headed by parishioners of the Russian Orthodox Church. Materials and Methods. The study used qualitative methods of collecting and analyzing sociological data such as observation, in-depth interviews with people participating in social activities of the Orthodox projects and with the members of their target groups. The qualitative study used theoretical sampling and the method of selecting typical cases, which made it possible to describe and analyze social technologies and the consequences of the Orthodox social activities in different areas of impact on the society, including helping the poor and the socially deprived strata of the population, rehabilitation of the disabled, ‘pro-life’ movements, as well as educational activities. Results. In the process of research, based on the analysis of the survey data, the goals of the Orthodox social projects and their hierarchy have been identified, as well as the peculiarities of motivation of the activities of the participants of the Orthodox social projects studied and the specifics of the forms of organizing social assistance in Moscow, the Republic of Mordovia, and the Ivanovo Region. The social technologies of direct and indirect influence of the Orthodox social projects in terms of educational activities have been studied. The authors sought to assess the transformational consequences of implementation of the Orthodox social projects studied at the levels of the individual, social institutions, and groups. Discussion and Conclusion. The study has revealed that the Orthodox social initiatives help their participants master such skills as fundraising, interaction with the society, government bodies and commercial entities, thus becoming an important segment of civil society. The main difficulties the Orthodox social projects encounter have been revealed: poor systemic work and dependence on the personality of the leader, dependence on grants. The scientific results of the study can be used when developing strategies and implementing social policies with the participation of Orthodox non-profit organizations through a comprehensive analysis of methods and social technologies.

This article provides a brief overview of the book series, State Languages of the Republic of Tatarstan: A Plurality of Measurements, which presents the results of sociological research conducted in 2014–2016 as part of the project, Sociolinguistic Monitoring of the Ethnolinguistic Situation in Republic of Tatarstan. The author comes to the conclusion that the series represents a significant contribution to the development of the country’s sociology of language and ethnosociology, and promotes the understanding of social processes and the factors connected with changes in the language situation and language politics in contemporary Russia.

A universal method for rapid identifying super-enhancers which are large domains of multiple closely-spaced enhancers is proposed. The method applies configurable cloud virtual machines (cVMs) and the rank-ordering of super-enhancers (ROSE) algorithm. To identify super-enhancers a сVM-based analysis of the ChIP-seq binding patterns of the active enhancer-associated mark is employed. The use of the proposed method is described step-by-step: configuration of cVM; ChIP-seq data alignment; peak calling; ROSE algorithm; interpretation of the results on a client machine. The method was validated for the search of super-enhancers using the H3K27ac mark in the sample datasets of a cell line (human MCF-7), mouse tissue (heart), and human tissue (adrenal gland). The total analysis cycle time of raw ChIP-seq data ranges from 15 to 48 min, depending on the number of initial short reads. Depending on the data processing step and availability of multi-threading, a cVM can be scaled up to a multi-CPU configuration with large amount of RAM. An important feature of the method is that it can run on a client machine that has low-performance with virtually any OS. The proposed method allows for simultaneous and independent processing of different sample datasets on multiple clones of a single cVM. • Cloud VMs were used for rapid processing of ChIP-seq data to identify super-enhancers. • The method can use a low-performance computer with virtually any OS on it. • It can be scaled up for parallel processing of individual sample datasets on their own VMs for rapid high-throughput processing.