The article is devoted to the analysis of the ideological attitudes of Russians regarding the priority vector of the development of Russian society against the background of SMO in Ukraine. Based on the data of an all-Russian representative study conducted by the Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS in March 2022, it is shown that there are two significantly different points of view in Russian society on this score. The majority are Russians who are convinced of the non–necessity of implementing an original, different from the Western model, vector of development of the Russian Federation, the minority are supporters of rapprochement with Western countries and orientation to their example in the future. Each of these groups has its own core and its conditional periphery. These two groups differ significantly not only in terms of the socio-demographic characteristics of their members and their values profile, but also in the context of the perception of the decision to hold an SMO in Ukraine, as well as the vision of the key actors of these events. At the same time, these groups are not complete antipodes indicating a potential for reconciliation of existing ideological differences. In particular, they are in solidarity on the need to share responsibility for the conflict in Ukraine between different countries, are not ready for restrictions that can significantly worsen their socio-economic situation, do not demonstrate readiness for public expression of discontent. It is also shown that the final civilizational choice will be determined by the opinion of the majority, which is still forming its identity according to the model of contrasting itself with the “significant other”. This is the “cornerstone” at this stage, the situation around which will determine the further vector of formation and rooting of Russians’ civilizational identity.