ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that young people in different risk societies appear to be facing the same problems in actual fact the reasons behind them and the responses available differ greatly between countries. The main trends in young people's social position in the West and Russia reflect the outcome of the impact of general world risk factors together with specific national ones. Society plays a decisive role in determining strategies of social reproduction. Contemporary Russian society is characterized by an infringement of each element of the mechanism of social reproduction. Young people are being alienated from its main social function. The wages of young people can also influence their attitudes towards work. A combination of the undeveloped legal mechanisms and the autonomy of the socialization agencies greatly increase the risk of contradictions between these agencies and young people, with regard to young people's civil rights in the areas of education, work, leisure, and their rights to live their own lives.
