The unity of Russian society was a theme of both tsarist and Soviet writers, but every society is differentiated in many ways. Some differences have biological roots, such as gender and age; others reflect socioeconomic circumstances, such as income and education; and some are political, such as ethnic identity or pride in citizenship. The development of modern society increases differentiation within society, since the great bulk of the population no longer follows common rural pursuits, and modern communications make it easier for people to group themselves according to distinctive interests and tastes.

Socialization is a process in which individuals learn to fit into society in different ways, for example, as an unskilled worker or a highly educated professional. In this process, people develop distinctive interests and expectations about how the country ought to be governed. For adults continuing in a given role in society, whether as workers or members of an ethnic group, early socialization can reinforce initial evaluation. These interests and values can be invoked in the evaluation of the current and alternative regimes. Political sociology follows Marx in postulating that an individual's social being, that is, their position in the social structure, will influence their political consciousness.