ABSTRACT
This chapter examines superficially a few of the numerous and diverse adaptations Russians have made to the new conditions in their lives. Which changes in the psyche of the ordinary Russian are most important to consider? Three points seem essential: how well adapted people feel to the new life; how they plan their personal futures; and their everyday emotional states. People always want peace and stability. Many are irritated and disoriented by the fact that in Russia most of us must constantly invent numerous, diverse, but essentially the most basic survival strategies and tactics in the battle for daily existence. The chapter discusses the magnitude and direction of emotional changes, the nature of the psychological experiences undergone by the general population, and those experiences engendered by the crisis of Russia's social and governmental system. One important sign of the transformation of social consciousness in Russia is the change in the meaning of life.
