Social mobility in Russia is a change in the status of an individual or an entire social group. The author of this system is Pitirim Sorokin, who managed to introduce it into the science of sociology back in 1927.
Factors of social mobility are, firstly, the growth of personality. For example, a child, a priori, will change his status over time, having left the circle of duties and rights that belonged to him as an immature individual. In the same way, an elderly person, going beyond age limits, changes his status as a worker to a pensioner.
Secondly, vertical mobility resulting from social stratification should be noted. This status change can occur both in ascending and descending trajectory.
The factors of social mobility of this type are the following: raising the level of education of an individual (for example, obtaining a diploma), changing jobs due to the accumulation of experience (for example, getting a higher professional category, military rank), losing a job or demotion (for example, in connection with labor violations or in connection with violations of the law by the administrative bodies of the enterprise - dismissal due to pregnancy or disability), getting into “places not so remote”, lost I am able to work.
Horizontal mobility refers to an individual changing his social position within the same social status (changing his place of residence, religion, work in the same status, and more).
When discussing the process of social mobility, it should be noted that the movement of an individual in society has a certain conditionality. Random mobility only takes place in an unstable social structure, in connection with critical historical moments or during an economic crisis. With a stable structure of society, a change in the status of an individual can only happen with the approval of the social environment, through certain channels.
In a broad sense, the channels of social mobility are social structures, methods and mechanisms used by an individual in order to be able to move from one social status to another.
That is, educational institutions in which a citizen can receive an education giving him the right to occupy a higher position are the channels of social mobility. This also includes political parties and political power bodies, economic structures and public organizations, the army and the Church, family-clan relations, and labor unions.
It should also be noted that the structures of organized crime are also channels of social mobility, since they themselves have their own internal mobility system and, moreover, often have a rather tangible influence on the “official” channels.
Considering the fact that the channels of social mobility operate as an integrated social system, we can say that its structure consists of many institutional and legal procedures that may or may not allow the movement of an individual.
These may include examination commissions, guardianship authorities, district administrations, housing commissions, the military commissariat, the court, and others. If a person wants to climb the vertical status ladder, he needs to undergo a certain “test”, which will show whether this individual corresponds to the new, desired status.
For example, to improve housing conditions, the necessary documents must be presented to the Housing Commission; upon receipt of a diploma, undergo training and passing final exams; upon admission to work, undergo an interview.
