n this paper, the authors analyse social class dimension in post-socialist countries, particularly in Russia, in the context of the intellectual class. Making an example of Russian society, main trends and features of social inequality and poverty are also considered. The notion of “poverty as an attitude to life” vs “poverty as objective state” is discussed and such two positions are differentiated with reference to the intellectual class. Analyzing the stated problem and focusing on Russian society, the authors come to the conclusion that the Russian population, as a post-socialist state, does not struggle with poverty in the minds of people, and such issues as low wages come to the fore. As a result, the authors conclude that the prevention of poverty in Russian society and any other post-socialist society requires a strong social policy of the state aimed at supporting people, who are objectively below the poverty line, and who are not able to overcome the poverty line. At the same time, authors conclude that involvement in leisure activities can be explained more by the notion of cultural capital than by the notion of economic capital.