Russian and modern world as social perceptions

The contribution describes the research which was carried out within the Moscovici’s social perceptions theory and which involved 221 respondents aged from 17 to 28 (17% men and 83% women). The aim of the research was to study the social perceptions of influence centers in the modern world, of countries which are the centers of such influence and of Russia, in different groups of Russian youth. The following assumptions were tested: 1) young people perceive the modern world as multipolar and Russia as one of its influence centers; 2) culture is one of the key elements of social perception of Russia; 3) social perceptions of countries which are the influence centers will be structured around elements which have geopolitical and economic connotations. The research allowed the authors to make the following conclusions: 1) influence centers in the modern world are represented by groups of countries: USA and Russia; United Kingdom, China and Japan; Germany, France. The leading role is assigned to USA and Russia; 2) key elements of perceptions of Russia have political and economic connotations; 3) perceptions of countries which are influence centers are structured around elements with geopolitical and economical connotations.