Abstract: The subject of this research is the public perceptions. The authors give particular attention to the public perceptions of social success, because they allow assessing the values and norms, ideals and idols, which dominate in society during the specific historical period. Changes in perceptions allows tracing the forms and vectors of transformation of the society, as well as determine the causes and consequences of social dynamics. Attention is also focused on the gender division in perceptions of social success. Sociocultural prerequisites and local conditions for development of gender differences are being revealed. The methodology of the research is structured upon the study of public perceptions through the principles of social construction and symbolic functionalism. The main conclusion consists in the fact that changes in the ideals of public consciousness regarding the development of social success among men and women carries an ambiguous character. On one hand, this transformation is influenced by the sociocultural changes that take place in the society, forcing people to adjust to them; and on the other hand, strong cultural-traditional framework integrated in life, which limit the scheme of possible changes in attitude towards success. Men and women choose different strategies of adjustment towards new circumstances; thus, their perceptions of “success” also differ. The scientific novelty consists in analysis of the specificity of social success in public perceptions of the Russians.