The article represents a summary of results of the research conducted by the Centre of Sociology of Management and Social Technologies of the Institute of Sociology of Russian Academies of Sciences in 2011 – 2013 within the meta-project “Civil examination of the management sphere”. The focus of the project is the problem of reforming a domestic control system in connection with new calls and a strategy of country development in the XXI century. This topic has gained substantial attention; however, few people begin the discussion with the diagnosis of a condition of a control Опыт социолого-культурологического исследования проблем реформирования 84№ 3(10), сентябрь 2014system and conclude with an analysis of various consequences of interventions with noble purposes. The article connects sociological and culturological approaches to reveal Russian citizens’ various estimations of different aspects of administrative vertical functioning. This vertical is permanently in an unstable dynamic balance with the external and internal environment. Thus, it carries out difficult and inconsistent functions of steady reproduction of the state and public relations and, at the same time, the initiation of its changes. The sociological approach provides an opportunity to measure the extent of citizens’ electoral support of the actions of the hierarchical bodies of authority and management. The culturological approach demands the accounting of all range of the estimates to confirm the citizens’ ability to make rational decisions. Thus, triplex analysis was conducted as a new means of measuring various aspects of functioning of an imperious and administrative vertical on the basis of estimates of the citizens. This analysis included the criteria of manikheysky opposition of the population positions (only pro and only contra) concerning the work of authority bodies and management and an average, median position of citizens’ search for a more rational and weighted “third way”. In addition to the justification of the scientific and practical relevance of the research, the article presents examples of empirical checks of the hypotheses concerning the factors that influence the formation of the population’s dispositions and conclusions about the prospects of an imperious and administrative vertical transformation and opportunities to utilise the triplex analysis procedure.

social regulation, administrative vertical, reforming, sociological and culturological approaches, mentality, oppositions of mass consciousness, mediation, triplex-analysis