Description:
Purpose: research of the self-identification features that characterize the formation of the middle class in the contemporary Russian society. Methodology: theoretical analysis of the literature on the definition of the Russian middle class, questionnaire. Results: A contradictory process of consolidation of the middle class through a combination of objective attributes and increasing specific class consciousness and the differences of objective and subjective assessments of socio-stratification status in the contemporary Russian society was grounded. The results were based on the analysis of quantitative data on respondents’ self-assessments of their socio-stratification positions, significance of belonging to the middle class and social well-being. Practical implications: study of social structure, social and economic policies.