Russian Entrepreneurship in the Context of Socio-Economic Crisis: the Risks of Deprofessionalization

Purpose of the study: The importance of sociological understanding of the risks of deprofessionalization of entrepreneurial activity in the context of a deep socio-economic crisis is determined by the peculiarities (crisis, illegal practices) of entrepreneurship in post-Soviet Russia which affected its modern development. Methodology: I. Schumpeter’s theoretical ideas create the methodological basis for the study of modern Russian entrepreneurship. Schumpeter defines an entrepreneur as the "main phenomenon" of economic development. The scientist associates entrepreneurship with innovation and introduction of new combinations of production factors. The neo-institutional approach is methodologically important for the study of Russian entrepreneurship. This approach states that any social institutional practices are determined by the specific institutional system, the system being a historical product of a particular era and society. The study of the risks of deprofessionalization of Russian entrepreneurship is carried out on the basis of theoretical ideas of Zh. T. Toshchenko, aimed at analysis of a new modern phenomenon - "effective managers", considered in the context of opportunistic behavior in the field of entrepreneurship. Results: The study concludes that the attitude to entrepreneurship in Russia has positively changed in the last decade. Despite this fact, Russia faces the risks of deprofessionalization. The risks are associated with both institutional formation factor and the modern conditions of professional training of entrepreneurs: the crisis of educational system and transformation of professional and labour values. Applications of this study: The results of this study facilitate navigation in the meanders of institutional transformations which take place in professional and labour spheres of the modern Russia, making it possible to predict the situation in social reproduction of the Russian community from the prospects of innovative development. That is possible because entrepreneurship acts as a generator and implementation entity of social innovations. Novelty/Originality of this study: The risks of Russian entrepreneurship deprofessionalization in the current social reality are determined by a set of institutional factors which create a crisis space for professionalization of entrepreneurs and future entrepreneurs at all the stages, from the process of professional self-determination to professional self-realization. This situation lays the foundation for crisis reproduction of the entire socio-cultural system. It is difficult to change the situation in the short term, therefore, we are talking about long-term projects. The authors propose to turn to potential of the institute of education, designed not only to form a layer of knowledge, skills, and competencies of the future businessmen, but also to form a culture of entrepreneurship with a high level of professional responsibility as one of the main indicators of professionalism.