The changes taking place in the public consciousness over the past few decades have led to the transformation of traditional values, the growth, especially among young people, of followers of the rejection of Christian, universal norms towards “values of self-expression”. In the theoretical part of the article, based on modern publications by both Russian and foreign authors and the mass media (Valeurs actuelles (France), Yle (Finland), Guardian (Great Britain), etc., the way of transformation of liberalism into a liberal dictatorship of a minority, the loss of Christian worldview in a post-industrial society is considered. The purpose of the study is to record, describe, analyze and summarize the attitude of students to the value categories proposed by the Synodal Department for Church-Society Relations in the Code of Russian Values and “new norms”. Based on the analysis of data from a questionnaire survey of students of universities in Kuzbass, who are overwhelmingly representatives of the regions of Western Siberia (398 people), the attitude to basic values ​​was determined, which we consider as a key component in shaping the consciousness of a modern young person, his ability to build his own life for development and improvement. Conducted focus groups were aimed at in-depth understanding of the content of the respondents' answers to the questionnaire (3 focus groups, a total of 38 people). Based on the analysis of data from a questionnaire survey of Kuzbass university students, who are overwhelmingly representatives of the regions of Western Siberia (398 people), the attitude to basic values was determined. We consider it a key component in shaping the consciousness of a modern young person, his/her ability to build his/her own life for development and improvement. The focus groups conducted were aimed at in-depth understanding of the content of the respondents' answers to the questionnaire questions (3 focus groups, with a total of 38 people). The results obtained indicate the growing importance of the values of “self-expression” among students, the growth of tolerance towards the LGBT community, the rapid dynamics in changing public consciousness (the Overton window), confirm the trend of secularization (as the loss of the “sacred”). At the same time, justice, family, care for children and the elderly, patriotism remain among the priority values of the Siberian youth. The revealed patterns and contradictions determine the need for a serious revision of the goals, priorities and principles of education and upbringing of modern young people, and also allow us to expect that religious institutions will be able to become a kind of repository of existential values, allowing to preserve and, possibly, morally improve modern society.

Key words: neoliberalism, values of self-expression, traditional values, de-Christianization, youth, Western Siberia

DOI: 10.22250/20728662_2023_1_135

Download the paper (PDF)

About the authors

	Alexey V. Gorbatov – Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor at the Department of General History and International Relations, Kemerovo State University; 6 Krasnaya str., Kemerovo, 650000, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
	Marianna М. Gorbatova – Ph.D. (Psychology), Associate Professor at the Department of Psychological Sciences, Kemerovo State University; 6 Krasnaya str., Kemerovo, 650000, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.