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This contribution, which is the first in a series of two articles, is based on data from a number of surveys that were conducted across Russia between 1999 and 2016. We analyze the features and trends in the models of income and subjective stratification of Russian society. We show that the middle strata dominate the existing model of income stratification, and this fact is well reflected in the minds of the population if we assess this on the basis of how people rate their social position. The economic crisis that began in 2014 has not seriously changed anything either in the model of income stratification itself or in how Russians self-assess their social position. Moving from the substantive to the methodological conclusions of the article, we show that the best methods for creating income stratification models in Russia are the relative methods that are used in developed countries, as opposed to absolute models, which are customary for developing countries. In addition, while taking into account the fact that some regions have made more progress toward modernization than others, we note that when analyzing the social structure of Russian society, it is best to use aggregated income stratification models that are based on the preliminary stratification of regional communities, as opposed to models that are based on the average indicators for the country as a whole.
