UDC: 338.24
https://doi.org/10.25198/2077-7175-2026-5-21


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REGIONAL DIFFERENTIATION OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE AS A DETERMINANT OF THE SOCIO-POLITICAL STABILITY OF RUSSIA

V. A. Gnevasheva
Institute of Social Demography of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
e-mail: vera_cos@rambler.ru

Abstract. In the context of geopolitical transformations and external economic shocks, ensuring the socio-political stability of the Russian Federation requires rethinking traditional approaches to regional governance, since the use of exclusively regulatory policies and assessment of macroeconomic indicators to address issues of the quality of life of the population is insufficient, and the continued high regional differentiation reduces the effectiveness of the vertical of power and generates structural social tension. The purpose of the study is to identify statistically significant cause-and-effect relationships between the regional differentiation of the quality of life of the population and indicators of socio-political stability of the state, as well as substantiate the need for a response from political forms of government. The work uses an integrated approach combining the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data.; The methodological framework of the study includes comparative analysis, correlation analysis of the interrelationships between the economic indicators of the regions and the index of social stability, as well as a systematic approach to assessing management effectiveness, while the information base was made up of official data from Rosstat, including indicators of consumer expectations of the population and per capita disposable income for the period 1998–2026. The main results of the study were the identification of stable trends in the polarization of Russian regions in terms of quality of life: the gap in individual indicators between the federal districts is 1.68 times with a threshold level of socially acceptable differentiation of 1.5 times; it was found that a negative balance in terms of savings formation indicates low financial stability of households in almost all regions and their inability to independently cope with external economic conditions, shocks without additional social guarantees. The scientific novelty of the work consists in the development of a system of twelve socio-political markers of early warning of risks to social stability, grouped into four areas – socio-economic (index of regional gap), demographic (intergenerational gap of expectations), inflationary (index of inflation anxiety) and dynamic (trend of regional divergence), as well as in the formation of their based on an integrative risk matrix for federal districts, which makes it possible to identify areas of increased attention from federal and regional authorities. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that the proposed toolkit can be used by public authorities for targeted monitoring of social tension and preventive management of political risks at the regional level. Areas of further research may include the testing of the developed system of markers in dynamics on panel data of the subjects of the Russian Federation, as well as the expansion of the methodology by including indicators of digital inequality and spatial accessibility of social services. As recommendations, it is proposed to improve the methodology for allocating federal transfers, taking into account not only budget security, but also quality of life indices, introduce uniform federal standards for the availability of basic social services regardless of place of residence, and regularly monitor the subjective well-being of the population as a key indicator of political loyalty and long-term sustainability of statehood.

Key words: regional differentiation, socio-political stability, inequality, quality of life.

Cite as: Gnevasheva, V. A. (2026) [Regional differentiation of the quality of life as a determinant of the socio-political stability of Russia]. Intellekt. Innovacii. Investicii [Intellect. Innovations. Investments]. Vol. 5, pp. 21–32. – https://doi.org/10.25198/2077-7175-2026-5-21.


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