The Moral State of Modern Russian Society: Crisis of Legal Culture

The article examines the moral and legal state of modern Russian society based on a secondary analysis of sociological research data, through the prism of the problem of the balance of morality and law, as well as pub-lic and state moral and legal regulation in the context of cultural policy. The author substantiates that the crisis of legal awareness and legal culture is accompanied by a decline in the moral consciousness and moral cul-ture of Russian society. On the one hand, research shows that in modern Russia there is a sufficient level of development of ethical consciousness and there are prerequisites for its successful development in the present and the future. On the other hand, scientists record the crisis of modern legal awareness, which disrupts the balance between morality and law, moral and legal cultures, and creates conditions for abuse of power by po-litical elites in the processes of politicization and legitimization of the moral sphere. Among the negative factors that historically determine the low level of legal awareness of Russians and have become part of the cultural and civilizational code of Russia, legal nihilism and distrust of government should be noted due to the lack of confidence in ensuring the principle of equality of all before the law and fair law enforcement.