The difference between horizontal and vertical social mobility. Types of social mobility

Social mobility is a change by an individual or group of their social position in social space. The concept was introduced into scientific circulation by P. Sorokin in 1927. He singled out two main types of mobility: horizontal and vertical.

Vertical mobility implies a set of social movements, which is accompanied by an increase or decrease in the social status of an individual. Depending on the direction of movement, there are upward vertical mobility(social uplift) and downward mobility(social decline).

Horizontal mobility- this is the transition of an individual from one social position to another, which is at the same level. An example is the movement from one citizenship to another, from one profession to another, which has a similar status in society. Mobility is often referred to as horizontal mobility. geographical, which implies moving from one place to another while maintaining the existing status (moving to another place of residence, tourism, etc.). If social status changes when moving, then geographic mobility turns into migration.

There are the following types of migration on:

• character - labor and political reasons:
• duration - temporary (seasonal) and permanent;
• territories - domestic and international:
• status - legal and illegal.

By types of mobility sociologists distinguish between intergenerational and intragenerational. Intergenerational mobility suggests the nature of changes in social status between generations and allows you to determine how much children rise or, conversely, fall on the social ladder compared to their parents. Intragenerational mobility connected with social career,, which means a change in status within one generation.

In accordance with the change by the individual of his social position in society, they distinguish two forms of mobility: group and individual. group mobility takes place in the case when movements are made collectively, and entire classes, social strata change their status. Most often this happens during periods of fundamental changes in society, such as social revolutions, civil or interstate wars, military coups, political regime changes, etc. Individual mobility means the social movement of a particular person and is associated primarily with the achieved statuses, while the group - with the prescribed, ascriptive.

Can speak: school, education in general, family, professional organizations, army, political parties and organizations, church. These social institutions serve as mechanisms for the selection and selection of individuals, placing them in the desired social stratum. Of course, in modern society, education is of particular importance, the institutions of which perform the function of a kind of "social lift" providing vertical mobility. Moreover, in the context of the transition from an industrial society to a post-industrial (informational) one, where scientific knowledge and information become the decisive factor in economic and social development, the role of education increases significantly (Appendix, Scheme 20).

At the same time, it should be noted that the processes of social mobility can be accompanied by the marginalization and lumpenization of society. Under marginality refers to an intermediate, “borderline” state of a social subject. Marginal(from lat. marginalis- on the edge) while moving from one social group to another retains the old system of values, connections, habits and cannot learn new ones (migrants, unemployed). On the whole, marginal people seem to lose their social identity and therefore experience great psychological stress. lumpen(from him. Lumpen- rags), trying in the process of social mobility to move from the old group to the new one, finds himself outside the group altogether, breaks social ties and eventually loses basic human qualities - the ability to work and the need for it (beggars, homeless, declassed elements). It should be noted that at present the processes of marginalization and lumpenization have become noticeably widespread in Russian society, and this may lead to its destabilization.

To quantify the processes of social mobility, indicators of the speed and intensity of mobility are usually used. P. Sorokin defined the rate of mobility as a vertical social distance or the number of economic strata. professional, political, which the individual goes through in his movement up or down for a certain period of time. The intensity of mobility is understood as the number of individuals changing their positions in the vertical or horizontal direction in a certain period of time. The number of such individuals in any social community gives the absolute intensity of mobility, and their share in the total number of this social community shows relative mobility.

Combining the indicators of speed and intensity of mobility, we get aggregate mobility index, which can be calculated for the economic, professional or political field of activity. It also makes it possible to define and compare mobility processes occurring in different societies. Thus, the processes of social mobility can take various forms and even be contradictory. But at the same time, for a complex society, the free movement of individuals in social space is the only way of development, otherwise it can be expected by social tension and conflicts in all spheres of public life. Generally social mobility is an important tool for analyzing the dynamics of society, changing its social parameters.

scientific definition

social mobility- change by an individual or group of the place occupied in the social structure (social position), moving from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum (horizontal mobility). Sharply limited in a caste and estate society, social mobility increases significantly in an industrial society.

Horizontal mobility

Horizontal mobility- the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located on the same level (example: moving from an Orthodox to a Catholic religious group, from one citizenship to another). Distinguish between individual mobility - the movement of one person independently of others, and group mobility - the movement occurs collectively. In addition, geographical mobility is distinguished - moving from one place to another while maintaining the same status (example: international and interregional tourism, moving from city to village and back). As a kind of geographical mobility, the concept of migration is distinguished - moving from one place to another with a change in status (example: a person moved to a city for a permanent place of residence and changed his profession). And it is similar to castes.

Vertical mobility

Vertical mobility- moving a person up or down the corporate ladder.

• Upward mobility- social uplift, upward movement (For example: promotion).
• Downward mobility- social descent, downward movement (For example: demotion).

social lift

social lift- a concept similar to vertical mobility, but more often used in the modern context of discussing the theory of elites as one of the means of rotation of the ruling elite.

Generational mobility

Intergenerational mobility is a comparative change in social status among different generations (example: the son of a worker becomes president).

Intragenerational mobility (social career) - a change in status within one generation (example: a turner becomes an engineer, then a shop manager, then a factory director). Vertical and horizontal mobility are influenced by gender, age, birth rate, death rate, population density. In general, men and young people are more mobile than women and the elderly. Overpopulated countries are more likely to experience the consequences of emigration (relocation from one country to another for economic, political, personal reasons) than immigration (moving to a region for permanent or temporary residence of citizens from another region). Where the birth rate is high, the population is younger and therefore more mobile, and vice versa.

Literature

• - article from the Newest Philosophical Dictionary
• Sorokin R. A. Social and cultural mobility. - N. Y. - L., 1927.
• Glass D.V. Social mobility in Britain. - L., 1967.

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See what "Social mobility" is in other dictionaries:

- (social mobility) Movement from one class (class) or, more often, from a group with a certain status to another class, to another group. Social mobility both between generations and within the professional activities of individuals is … Political science. Dictionary.

Change by an individual or group of social position, the place occupied in the social structure. S. m. is connected both with the operation of the laws of societies. development, class struggle, causing the growth of some classes and groups and a decrease ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

SOCIAL mobility, change by an individual or group of the place occupied in the social structure, movement from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum ... ... Modern Encyclopedia

Change by an individual or group of the place occupied in the social structure, moving from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum (horizontal mobility). ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

social mobility- SOCIAL MOBILITY, change by an individual or group of the place occupied in the social structure, movement from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

The concept by which the social movements of people are indicated in the direction of social positions, characterized by a higher (social ascent) or lower (social degradation) level of income, prestige and degree ... ... The latest philosophical dictionary

See SOCIAL MOBILITY. Antinazi. Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2009 ... Encyclopedia of Sociology

SOCIAL MOBILITY- SOCIAL MOBILITY, a term used (along with the concepts of social displacement and social mobility) in sociology, demography and economics. sciences to denote the transitions of individuals from one class, social group and stratum to another, ... ... Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (vertical mobility) See: labor overflow (mobility of labor). Business. Dictionary. Moscow: INFRA M, Ves Mir Publishing House. Graham Bets, Barry Brindley, S. Williams et al. Osadchaya I.M.. 1998 ... Glossary of business terms

social mobility- a personal quality acquired in the course of educational activities and expressed in the ability to quickly master new realities in various spheres of life, to find adequate ways to resolve unforeseen problems and fulfill ... ... Official terminology

Books

• Sport and social mobility. Crossing borders, Spaay Ramon. Great athletes, Olympic champions, famous football players, hockey players or racers are known all over the world. Undoubtedly, the sport that became their profession made them famous and rich. BUT…

Start developing problems social mobility was proposed by P. A. Sorokin in the book "Social Stratification and Mobility" (1927). The term gained recognition first in American and then in world sociology.

Under social mobility, understand the transition of an individual (group) from one social position to another. There are two main types of social mobility.

• 1. Horizontal mobility associated with the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located at the same level. At the same time, the secondary ones change and the main indicators of the status position of the individual (prestige, income, education, power) remain unchanged. Such is the nature of moving for residence from one locality to another of the same rank, changing religion or citizenship, moving from one family to another (in case of divorce or remarriage), from one enterprise to another, etc. In all these cases, there are no noticeable changes in the social position of the individual in the vertical direction.
• 2. Vertical mobility implies a situation that develops as a result of the movement of an individual (group) from one level of the social hierarchy to another. Vertical mobility can be ascending And descending.

Depending on the factors that caused the social displacement of citizens, there are organized And structural mobility.

Organized mobility connected with the fact that changes in the social position of a person and entire groups of people are directed by the state and various public institutions (parties, church, trade unions, etc.). Such activities may be:

voluntary in the case when it is carried out with the consent of citizens (for example, the practice of sending to study at higher and secondary specialized educational institutions);

forced, if it is carried out under the influence of any circumstances beyond our control (moving from places where there is no work to where it is available; moving from places where there was a natural disaster, man-made disaster);

forced if it is connected with the direction of citizens by a court decision to places of deprivation of liberty.

Structural mobility is determined by changes caused by social transformations (nationalization, industrialization, privatization, etc.) and even by a change in the types of social organization (revolution). These changes result in:

• a) mass movement of people and entire social groups;
• b) changing the principles of social stratification;
• c) reorientation of the directions along which the social movement of people takes place for a long historical period.

Vivid examples illustrating the nature of such processes are the French Revolution of 1789 and the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia. Their result was not only the seizure of power by certain political forces, but also a change in the very type of social structure, the entire social structure of society.

The relationship between horizontal and vertical mobility can be quite complex. For example, when moving to live from a village to a city, from a small city to a large one, from a province to a capital, an individual raises his social status, but at the same time, for some other parameters, he can lower it: a lower level of income, housing disorder , lack of demand for the former profession and qualifications, etc.

In the event that territorial movements are combined with a change in status, we are talking about migration(from lat. migratio - movement). Migration can be external(between different countries) and internal(between regions of the same country). There are also emigration, i.e. departure of citizens from the country, and immigration, i.e. entry of foreigners into the country. Both types involve the movement of citizens for long periods or even permanently. There are various migration forms: economic, political, migration of victims of war and natural disasters, etc.

Mass migrations also took place in the past (the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars into Russia, the Crusades, the colonization of the New World, etc.). However, only at the end of the 19th century, when migration flows became stable, the main directions of movement were identified. In addition, the following has been established:

• 1. Migration is carried out from south to north and from east to west.
• 2. Millions of migrants seek to leave countries and territories plunged into the sphere of hostilities, ethnic and religious conflicts, natural disasters (droughts, floods, earthquakes, etc.).
• 3. The final destinations of migration are Western countries with stable economies and developed democracies (North America, Western Europe, Australia).

Russia in the 20th century experienced three waves of emigration.

At the same time, Russia itself has become a place where, according to various sources, from 5 to 15 million illegal immigrants live, of which more than a million and a half are citizens of the PRC.

The processes of social mobility (mobility) are present in any society. Another thing is that its scales and distances can be different. Both upward and downward mobility is equally near and far.

The more open a particular society, the more people are able to move up the social ladder, making, in particular, an upward movement up to the highest positions. One of the important moments of American social mythology is the idea of ​​the so-called societies of equal opportunity, where anyone can become a millionaire or the President of the United States. The example of Bill Gates, the founder and head of Microsoft, suggests that this myth has a real basis.

The closeness of a traditional society (caste, class) limits the prospects of people, reducing long-distance mobility to almost zero. Social mobility here serves the purpose of reproducing the dominant model of stratification. Thus, in India, movements are traditionally limited by the caste to which an individual belongs, and mobility has rigidly set parameters (in a totalitarian society, an ideological moment is also added).

Most models of social organization of the past and present equally demonstrate the characteristics of openness and closeness. For example, the class division of Russian society in the 18th - early 20th centuries was combined with the Law on the Order of Public Service (1722) signed by Peter I, better known as the "Table of Ranks". He legitimized the very possibility of a person acquiring a higher status in accordance with personal merits. Thanks to this law, the Russian state received hundreds and thousands of gifted administrators, statesmen, military leaders, etc.

In addition to upward and downward mobility, intergenerational and intragenerational mobility are distinguished.

Intergenerational mobility indicates the ratio of the positions achieved by children with the positions occupied by their parents. By comparing indicators that characterize the social position of different generations (fathers and sons, mothers and daughters), sociology gains an idea of ​​the nature and direction of changes in society.

Intragenerational mobility characterizes the ratio of positions occupied by the same individual at different moments of his life, during which he can repeatedly acquire or lose certain statuses, occupying a more privileged position in some, losing it in others, making ascents or descents.

Factors of social mobility. Vertical mobility in society is possible due to the presence of special channels of social mobility. P. A. Sorokin, who first described their action, speaks of them as “certain “membranes”, “holes”, “stairs”, “elevators” or “paths”, along which individuals are allowed to move up or down from one layer to another". All these formulations are rooted in the sociological literature and are used to explain the factors by which some individuals and entire groups rise up, while others fall down at the same time.

The channels of mobility traditionally include the institutions of education, property, marriage, the army, etc. Thus, getting an education gives an individual the knowledge and qualifications that make it possible to apply for a professional activity or for occupying a corresponding position. A profitable investment in the purchase of a land plot may eventually lead to a significant increase in its value or the discovery of some valuable natural resource (oil, gas, etc.) on it, which will give its owner the status of a wealthy person.

As P. A. Sorokin notes, mobility channels also act as a "sieve", "filters" through which society "tests and sifts, selects and distributes its individuals among various social strata and positions." They provide a process social selection(selection), restricting access to the upper floors of the hierarchy in various ways. The latter is connected with the interests of those who have already reached a privileged position, i.e. upper class. Western sociologists argue that "existing systems of classification do not define this group at all." Meanwhile, it exists and has its own features:

• 1) hereditary wealth, transmitted and increased from generation to generation. This sign unites the owners of "old" money, the legitimacy of which no one doubts. The basis of capital, as a rule, is a family business;
• 2) similar educational experience and level of culture. Thus, in the UK, 73% of directors of large companies, 83% of heads of financial institutions and 80% of judges attended privileged schools, although only 8.2% of British schoolchildren study in them;
• 3) maintenance of personal contacts established since the time of study, which extend to the sphere of business relations, business and politics, public service;
• 4) a high percentage of marriages within the class, which is called homogamy(from the Greek homos - equal and gamos - marriage), as a result of which the internal cohesion of the group is enhanced.

These features characterize the constant component of this group, called the establishment(English, establishment - the ruling elite). At the same time, a layer of people stands out who have penetrated the upper class by making their own careers. Of course, the upper class needs to be replenished with fresh forces, those who, thanks to their own efforts, are able to climb the social ladder. The idea of ​​updating and replenishing the upper class with the most capable people who confirmed their merits found justification in the writings of the Italian sociologist Vilfredo Pareto (1848–1923). His approach, called meritocratic(from Latin meritus - worthy and Greek kratos - power), is that if the elite of society does not co-opt the most worthy representatives of the lower classes into its composition, then it will inevitably collapse. In modern interpretations, for example, by the American scientist Daniel Bell, the upper class also includes groups of professionals with higher education who use their special knowledge as a means of asserting their own power status.

In sociology, when describing the forms of social hierarchy, one often resorts to geometric images. So, P. A. Sorokin presented the model of stratification of society, created according to economic parameters, in the form of a cone, each of the levels of which fixes a certain position of wealth and income. In his opinion, in different periods, the shape of the cone can change, either becoming excessively sharpened when social stratification and inequality in society grows, or, on the contrary, becoming more squat, up to turning into a flat trapezoid during egalitarian communist experiments. Both the first and the second are dangerous, threatening social explosion and collapse in one case and complete stagnation of society in another.

The representative of American functionalism B. Barber believes that depending on the greater or lesser degree of hierarchy in society, i.e. more or less sharp pointed to the top, the stratification of society can be depicted in the form of a pyramid and a rhombus. These figures show that there is always a minority in society, i.e. the highest class, having ranks closer to the top. With a pyramidal structure, there is a very small stratum of the middle class, and the majority is the lower class. With a diamond-shaped structure, the predominance of the middle class, which gives balance to the entire system, is characteristic, while the minority is represented in the upper and lower sharp corners of the diamond.

TO middle class, as a rule, include those who have economic independence, i.e. has his own business (small business, workshop, gas station, etc.); they are most often described as old middle class. There is an upper layer of the middle class, which is made up of managers and professional specialists (doctors, college teachers, highly qualified lawyers, etc.), as well as a lower layer (clerical and commercial employees, nurses, and many others). The position of the middle class is extremely heterogeneous. Being located in the system of hierarchy between the "tops" and the social "bottoms", it turns out to be the most mobile. In modern society, the middle class, on the one hand, nourishes the elite with talented and enterprising people, and on the other hand, ensures the stability of the main social structures.

lower class, in Marxist terminology, working class, consisting of people engaged in physical labor. It is as deeply structured as all other components of the social hierarchy.

The difference between highly skilled workers and representatives of the so-called underclass(English underclass - lower class) is very high in all major indicators (income, professional training, education, etc.). Representatives of the latter have poor working conditions, their standard of living is much lower than that of the majority of the population. Many of them remain unemployed for a long time or periodically lose it. The formation of the underclass is carried out mainly at the expense of ethnic minorities and various kinds of marginal elements. For example, in the UK, they are dominated by blacks and coloreds from the former British colonies, in France - by immigrants from North Africa, and in Germany - by Turks and Kurds.

In recent years, Western governments have been striving to more actively filter migration flows into these countries, potentially multiplying the size of the underclass. For example, in Canada, the legal requirements for immigrants require that they have professional education, qualifications and work experience in their specialty. Satisfying these requirements in practice means that the migrants will be able to more successfully fit into the existing system of stratification of society.

The topic of this article is social mobility. This is a very important topic for a sociologist. It is held today at school in the lessons of social studies. After all, knowledge of the society in which we live is necessary for everyone. In our days, when the world is changing very quickly, this is especially true.

Definition

Migration in the broad and narrow senses

Migrations, that is, territorial movements of the population, can also be considered as one of the forms of social mobility. In a broad sense, they are understood as any movement beyond the borders of a certain territory of its population (usually this territory is a settlement). At the same time, for what purpose and for how long the procedure takes place is immaterial.

However, in popular science and scientific literature, a narrow interpretation of the concept of "migration" is much more often used. According to her, this is a movement that is associated with a change in the place of permanent residence.

Seasonal and pendulum migration

In a broad sense, migration includes, in addition to moving to a permanent place of residence, also seasonal and pendulum migration. The second is the regular movement of people between several (two or more) settlements. However, their place of residence does not change. Such migration is connected with work, rest or study. These are mostly daily trips. Sometimes, however, trips made for a longer period (usually within one week) are also considered as pendulum migrations.

Two important reasons for the sociologist to classify migration

Many features exist to classify migration flows. The most important for the sociologist are the following two:

1. Migration occurring between settlements, the rank of which is different. In some cases, migration is vertical social mobility. This is observed when it is associated with a decrease or increase in the status of a person who has a certain place of residence. In others, it is horizontal (in the event that the move occurs between settlements with the same rank). Today, migration as vertical social mobility is a phenomenon associated mainly with the process of urbanization. After all, moving from villages to cities is a necessary element of this process.

2. External and internal migration. This division is considered rather conditional. Migration human mobility is a vast phenomenon that cannot be rigorously classified. In official statistics, internal migration is usually understood as the movement of people to a new place of residence, carried out within the same country. Under the external means moving to a sufficiently long or permanent residence in another country. However, sometimes, depending on the goals pursued by a particular sociological study, migrations between different subjects of the federation are also considered as external.

Social mobility in Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries

Throughout the history of the development of our state, the nature of the mobility of its population has changed. These changes can be recorded quite accurately from the beginning of the 18th century. Russia, like any other semi-agrarian and agrarian society, was characterized until the end of the 19th century by rather low rates of vertical mobility. During these years, the basis of the structure of society was made up of estates. The boundaries of class groups, however, were at that time more permeable than in Europe during the time of classical feudalism. The policy of absolutism pursued by the state contributed to this. Although the outflow was hardly noticeable in relation to the total number of the peasantry due to the high proportion of its representatives in the population of the country, the rates of mobility were very high in relation to the urban estates and the nobility. By paying the tax rate and the ransom, people from the peasantry quite easily got into the urban estates, they could advance in the social hierarchy up to the merchants of the first guild. The ranks of the service nobility also replenished very intensively. From all the estates of Russia, its representatives were nominated - from the clergy, merchants, philistines, peasants.

The structural mobility of the society of that time (since the time of Peter I, at least) was insignificant. That is, the layers that make up the structure of society remained unchanged. Until the 1870s, only their quantitative ratio changed slightly.

Mobility in the post-Petrine era

Russia during the next 140 years following the reign of Peter I, experienced not only a very intense vertical mobility. The structural social mobility of the society of that time was also significant and took place in several stages. At first (1870-1917), a class of proletariat and industrial bourgeoisie was gradually formed in Russia. After that, mainly from 1930 to 1970, an intensive process of modernization took place. At this time, a structure was being formed that was already close to the corresponding one in industrial and post-industrial societies. The difference was that there was no class of private entrepreneurs. In addition, the sphere in which market relations operated was significantly limited. Since the 1990s, the third stage of structural mobility has begun in our society. It is associated with the formation of a post-industrial society in Russia, which is based on a market economy.

Change in the prestige of professions, high rates of inter- and intra-generational mobility

It was not only the quantitative ratio of different social strata that changed in the process of the structural shifts described above. The relative prestige of certain professions also did not remain unchanged. For example, in the 1930s-1950s, the most prestigious were technical specialties (skilled worker, engineer), in the 1950s-1970s, professions related to science, and from the mid-1980s of the last century, those related to finance and trade. During the entire period, very high rates of intergenerational and intragenerational mobility, as well as a low level of isolation of various professional groups, were observed. This was noted not only by domestic sociologists, but also by Western ones.

Territorial migration at different times

During this period, the rates of territorial mobility were also extremely high (both horizontal - to construction sites and newly developed areas, and vertical - from the village to the city). Migration began to decline only from the mid-1970s. However, since the beginning of the 1990s, growth rates have been observed again. Many people migrate to the regions of the Russian Federation from the former Soviet republics.

Vertical social mobility is a change by the subject (individual, or group) of his social status, in which there is an increase in the level of income, education, prestige and power. We talked in more detail about social mobility in the course "Social science: USE for 100 points" .

Examples of vertical social mobility

There have always been people in society who made a career very quickly, or became multimillionaires. How did they do it? Is vertical social mobility only related to income?

Here is a kind of hit parade of such people.

Natalya Kasperskaya - born in 1966, co-founder of the Kaspersky Lab campaign.

Natalya began her life's journey like all Soviet guys: from entering the institute. She graduated from the Moscow Institute of Electronic Engineering with a degree in Applied Mathematics. In 1993, she became a software vendor. Then - a manager in the same company. Then she put pressure on her husband - Evgeny Kaspersky - to open her own company - Kaspersky Lab.

She became a co-founder. However, its share was not specified in the company's charter documents. As a result, in 2011, she divorced her husband and resigned as chairman of the board of directors of Kaspersky Lab. Natalya devoted all her time to her company InfoWatch. The company today is a leader in corporate information security.

Well, for example, you don’t like that your employees use their mail during working hours, and not corporate mail. Who knows, maybe they leak information to a competitor? This is where you will need InfoWatch services to ensure the information security of your company.

Thus, Natalia Kasperskayacmade dizzying vertical social mobility in all four dimensions: income (wealth $ 230 million), power (runs his company), prestige (recognized world-class expert in the field of information security), education (higher specialist in mathematics, bachelor in business ).

Pavel Durov - founder of the social network "Vkontakte"

Probably every young programmer wants to change the world beyond recognition - to hack normality. Pavel Durov did it! By the way, read on.

Pavel was born on October 10, 1984 in Leningrad in the family of a Doctor of Philology. I have been programming since the age of 11. That is, his father could afford to give his son a computer to use.

After school, Pavel began to study at the Faculty of Philology, while studying at the Military Faculty with a degree in Psychological Warfare. At the same time he studied at the military department. During his studies, Pavel several times became a scholarship holder of the Presidential and Potanin scholarships.

In the course of his studies, he created several projects to make life easier for students: a project on abstracts, etc. One day, an acquaintance of his came from an internship in the USA and told Pasha about facebook.

The idea was reworked for Russian realities, and in 2006 the Student.ru website was launched in test mode, which was then renamed Vkontakte. In 2007, 2 million people used the new social network. Offers to buy the Durov project immediately rained down. But all offers were rejected. Only in 2008 Pavel began to monetize the resource. Then there were already 20 million users.

Soon, the personal fortune of Pavel Durov was estimated by Forbes magazine at 7.9 billion rubles (approx. 263 million dollars). In 2012, pressure began from the authorities on the social network Vkontakte because of the Navalny case. As a result, the founder of the social network sold his share of shares (12%) to his friend, and the multimillionaire Pavel Durov himself left for the USA. They say that he has now returned and lives in Russia.

Although hardly. Now Pavel is developing his new Telegram project, where you can exchange messages and files [attention!], up to 1 gigabyte, absolutely free. Moreover, the messages are encrypted and, according to Durov, no one can decrypt them, even the developers themselves. By the way, in 2015 it became known that terrorists might use this service. To such attacks on his project, Pavel said that the terrorists would find where to communicate.

Thus, Pavel Durov made a stunning vertical social mobility in all parameters at once: income (increased billions of times), prestige (a cult person in Runet and not only), power (power on the accounts of 70 million users), education (St. Petersburg State University graduated with a red diploma, I still haven’t taken a diploma from the university).

Now there are a lot of opinions on the Web about whether Durov stole the idea of ​​​​Facebook or not. Personally, my position is that of course there are similar elements in the navigation. But personally, I mostly sit in VKontakte. Facebook is complicated, incomprehensible, the constant emails in my inbox are killing me (“Hi, you have a new message”, “Hi, we miss you”, “You have a new notification”). It infuriates me. And you?

Tatyana Bakalchuk is an example of vertical social mobility

Tatyana was an ordinary English teacher. In 2004, in connection with the birth of a child, she realized that there was simply not enough money for life. She came up with the idea of ​​reselling German clothes at a premium. At first, she and her husband simply ordered clothes from the German Otto and Quelle catalogs, and then resold them at a premium. At first they were acquaintances.

In Soviet terms, Tatyana became a speculator. But today, where not a plus - only speculators. Therefore, we will call Tatyana not a speculator, but a completely original bisneswoomen. Then, apparently, she persuaded her husband to invest in the creation of his own small online German clothing store.

Today, her Wildberries store has a revenue of 7 billion rubles. Forbes magazine estimates Tatyana's fortune at about $330 million.

Thus, Tatyana Bakalchuk, in terms of the nature and speed of social mobility, has become on a par with Pavel Durov: she has a higher education (English teacher), has extremely high capital by Russian standards, has power over her own brand and an online clothing store where millions buy things. visitors, of course, has a high prestige, as it is included in the lists of the magazineForbes.

To be continued…... so as not to miss the continuation!