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Between stability and uncertainty: The proletariat, the precariat, and the new reality of Ukraine

stmm. 2026 (1): 194–201

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2026.01.194

Full text: https://stmm.in.ua/archive/ukr/2026-1/15.pdf

RUSLAN ZAPOROZHCHENKO, PhD in Political Science, Associate Professor at Political Sociology Department, Educational and Scientific Institute of Sociology and Mediacommunications, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (4, Svobody Sq., Kharkiv, 61022)

zaporozhchenko@karazin.ua

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7353-4933

The essay is devoted to analyzing the transformations of the social structure of Ukrainian society in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war as an event that is not only a military or political fact, but also a profound “historical shift” capable of radically changing social relations, forms of employment, and mechanisms of social mobility. The author proceeds from the assumption that war creates a state of prolonged uncertainty, which should be viewed not as a temporary anomaly, but as a new social reality within which class categories and social subjectivity are being rethought. The theoretical focus is on the categories of “proletariat” and “precariat”, which are used as analytical tools to understand changes in Ukraine’s social landscape. Drawing on classical and contemporary sociological approaches (Marxist, Weberian, Bourdieusian traditions, as well as Guy Standing’s concept of the precariat), the author demonstrates that these categories are neither mutually exclusive nor static. On the contrary, in a situation of war, a complex space of intersection, interpenetration, and mutual transformation is formed between them. The essay argues that the Russian-Ukrainian war does not lead to a simple replacement of the proletariat by the precariat but rather initiates a process of hybridization of social classes, within which stability and instability coexist within the life strategies of the same social actors. The war acts as a catalyst for rethinking social structures, forcing a re-examination of established notions of class, labor, and social subjectivity in contemporary Ukraine.

Keywords: Russian-Ukrainian War, proletariat, precariat, social structures, uncertainty, transformation

Referenes:

  1. Agamben, G. (2005). State of exception. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

  2. Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  3. Bourdieu, P. (2018). Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. In: Knowledge, Education, and Cultural Change (pp. 71-112). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351018142-3

  4. Marx, K. (1906). Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. New York, NY: Random House.

  5. Standing, G. (2011). The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781849664554

  6. Statista. (2022). Financial support for Ukrainian refugees per month in selected European countries (June 2022). Hamburg, Germany: Statista Research Department. Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1321509/monthly-support-per-ukrainian-refugee-europe-by-country/

  7. Wright, E. (Ed.). (2005). Approaches to Class Analysis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511488900

Received 15.12.2025

Accepted for publication after review 07.01.2026

Between stability and uncertainty: The proletariat, the precariat, and the new reality of Ukraine

stmm. 2026 (1): 194–201

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2026.01.194

Full text: https://stmm.in.ua/archive/ukr/2026-1/15.pdf

RUSLAN ZAPOROZHCHENKO, PhD in Political Science, Associate Professor at Political Sociology Department, Educational and Scientific Institute of Sociology and Mediacommunications, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (4, Svobody Sq., Kharkiv, 61022)

zaporozhchenko@karazin.ua

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7353-4933

The essay is devoted to analyzing the transformations of the social structure of Ukrainian society in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war as an event that is not only a military or political fact, but also a profound “historical shift” capable of radically changing social relations, forms of employment, and mechanisms of social mobility. The author proceeds from the assumption that war creates a state of prolonged uncertainty, which should be viewed not as a temporary anomaly, but as a new social reality within which class categories and social subjectivity are being rethought. The theoretical focus is on the categories of “proletariat” and “precariat”, which are used as analytical tools to understand changes in Ukraine’s social landscape. Drawing on classical and contemporary sociological approaches (Marxist, Weberian, Bourdieusian traditions, as well as Guy Standing’s concept of the precariat), the author demonstrates that these categories are neither mutually exclusive nor static. On the contrary, in a situation of war, a complex space of intersection, interpenetration, and mutual transformation is formed between them. The essay argues that the Russian-Ukrainian war does not lead to a simple replacement of the proletariat by the precariat but rather initiates a process of hybridization of social classes, within which stability and instability coexist within the life strategies of the same social actors. The war acts as a catalyst for rethinking social structures, forcing a re-examination of established notions of class, labor, and social subjectivity in contemporary Ukraine.

Keywords: Russian-Ukrainian War, proletariat, precariat, social structures, uncertainty, transformation

Referenes:

  1. Agamben, G. (2005). State of exception. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

  2. Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  3. Bourdieu, P. (2018). Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. In: Knowledge, Education, and Cultural Change (pp. 71-112). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351018142-3

  4. Marx, K. (1906). Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. New York, NY: Random House.

  5. Standing, G. (2011). The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781849664554

  6. Statista. (2022). Financial support for Ukrainian refugees per month in selected European countries (June 2022). Hamburg, Germany: Statista Research Department. Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1321509/monthly-support-per-ukrainian-refugee-europe-by-country/

  7. Wright, E. (Ed.). (2005). Approaches to Class Analysis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511488900

Received 15.12.2025

Accepted for publication after review 07.01.2026

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