Rural intelligentsia in the conditions of transformation of agrarian sphere of modern Ukrainian society

The article provides a comparative analysis of the attitude to the village reform and other issues of its life by representatives of different groups of the rural population, especially rural intellectuals and manual workers. It is emphasized that the rural intelligentsia, which is called to become one of the main agents of village reform, as it has a higher level of potential and real social subjectivity, nevertheless does not always realize its potential in the interests of modernization of agriculture, which, in particular, features of their mentality. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the specifics of the nature of the mental worker in the agricultural sector is that often in addition to the implementation of its main functions related to position and profession, he is engaged in rural work (work on the farm, cattle care, etc.). The way of life of a rural intellectual determines the peculiarity of his mentality, which has an ambivalent character. On the one hand, the mentality of the rural intellectual is determined by his education, the mental nature of work, the level of culture, including the city culture. On the other hand, his mentality is due to the traditions of the rural community, rural labor, cultural patterns of the villager. Sociological research shows that the rural intelligentsia is less influenced by traditionalism than other social groups in the countryside; it is more willing than other peasants to leave the village. In the context of the attitude to reforms in the agricultural sector, special attention is paid to the decentralization reform, which is carried out in Ukraine and has not only economic, organizational, but also institutional and socio-cultural consequences. It is noted that these effects are manifested differently in urban and rural areas and are perceived differently by different social groups. According to the research, it is shown that the attitude to reforms in rural areas, in particular to the creation of united territorial communities (OTG), among the rural intelligentsia is more positive than among the representatives of manual labor. It is emphasized that, despite the ambivalence of the attitude of the rural intelligentsia to the OTG (according to the data presented in the article), its representatives are twice as many of their opponents than supporters; however, at the same time, the interviewed mental workers feel more like members of the new territorial-administrative formations in the countryside than other social groups living there.