Sociological theory in Russia: At the crossroads of fragmentation and pluralism

Discussions of current condition and prospects of theoretical sociology in Russia have not yet produced а coherent picture of them. In this article the author shows that divergent evaluations of them depend upon finding the presence and development of "theory" in its production or reproduction, in original authorial achievements or collective reproduction of background, in mere accumulation of publications or in its live ongoing translation, in special elaboration of theory or in its using, and also upon different images of "theory" as unified theory or multiple theories, as general theory or special theories, as formal or substantial theory, as metatheory or propositional schemes, analytical schemes or model-building. In view of these discrepancies the author suggests to focus on elucidation of what we mean by theory, what we want it to be, and what development we wait of it.