V. G. Nemirovskiy, A. S. Novikov. Sociology of Immortality: Perceptions of the Population of Krasnoyarsk Territory on the Possibility of Posthumous Existence (2010–2023)

https://doi.org/10.15507/2413-1407.26343.658-674
EDN: https://elibrary.ru/wpgbulISSN 2413-1407
УДК / UDC 316.4:129(470+571)“20” ISSN 2587-8549

Abstract

Introduction. In the context of profound sociocultural trauma in Russian society, ideas about the afterlife are becoming an important indicator of the state of mass consciousness and the unconscious. The aim of this study is to identify the structure and dynamics of ideas about immortality among residents of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, a large Russian region, within the context of the concepts of “trauma society” and the sociology of life.

Materials and Methods. The theoretical and methodological framework is based on concepts of the sociology of life and the “trauma society”. The empirical base for the comparative study was formed by data from two cross-sections in Krasnoyarsk Territory: 2010 – a semi-structured interview (n = 1.568, stratified multistage quota sampling, covering 28 urban and rural settlements); 2023 – a mass online survey (n = 700, targeted on social networks with a reweighting procedure based on gender, age, and settlement type). Factor analysis (principal component analysis, Varimax rotation) was used to identify latent structures of the mass unconscious.

Results. A shift has been recorded in both mass consciousness and the mass unconscious: from social-creative and religious attitudes to the dominance of nihilistic and consumerist models of immortality. At the verbal level, hope for socio-demographic immortality remains (the hope of living after death through the results of one's labor, as well as through one's children and grandchildren), but latent structures are establishing a personality type called “avoidant”, which expresses various aspects of post-traumatic motivation.

Conclusion. It has been demonstrated for the first time that sociocultural trauma in Russian society leads to the spread of consumerist and nihilistic notions of immortality among regional residents. Perceptions of immortality serve as a marker of regional sociocultural trauma. It is shown that compensatory status-based consumption and career pursuit reduce existential fear of death. The need for comparative studies in va-
rious regions of the Russian Federation, taking into account their involvement in pressing sociopolitical processes (using psychological methods), is substantiated.

Keywords: sociology of immortality, trauma society, perceptions of immortality, mass unconscious, Krasnoyarsk Territory, regional studies, status consumption

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding. This study was supported by the Russian Foundation for the Humanities under research project No. 10–03-00001a (“Characteristics of the Sociocultural Portrait of Krasnoyarsk Territory”). Part of the study was conducted by the authors on a voluntary basis without the use of targeted funding.

For citation: Nemirovskiy V.G., Novikov A.S. Sociology of Immortality: Perceptions of the Population of Krasnoyarsk Territory on the Possibility of Posthumous Existence (2010–2023). Russian Journal of Regional Studies. 2026;34(3):658–674. https://doi.org/10.15507/2413-1407.26343.658-674

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About the authors:

Valentin G. Nemirovskiy, Dr.Sci. (Sociol.), Professor, Leading Researcher of the Department of Sociology and Social Psychology, Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (51/21 Nakhimovskii Prospekt, Moscow 117418, Russian Federation), ORCID:  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4076-465X, Researcher ID: G-3689-2015, Scopus ID: 46461917700, SPIN-code: 1831-1806, valnemirov@mail.ru

Aleksei S. Novikov, Cand.Sci. (Philos.), Master (Psych.), Director, Social Research Technologies LLC (Apt. 173, 172, Newspaper “Krasnoyarsk Worker” Prospekt, Krasnoyarsk 660093, Russian Federation), ORCID:  https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3352-8946, SPIN-code: 8720-1837, asnovikov@gmail.com

Contribution of the authors:

V. G. Nemirovskiy – сonceptualization; methodology; investigation; formal analysis; writing – original draft preparation; project administration; critical review.

A. S. Novikov – investigation; formal analysis; data curation; commentary or revision.

Availability of data and materials. The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the authors on reasonable request.

The authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Submitted 31.10.2025; revised 11.02.2025; accepted 26.02.2026.