Today more and more works are devoted to the sociocultural study of various social strata of the Russian society, including the working class. This article is the results of research on an aspect of socio-cultural appearance of workers in Western Siberia. Its essence lies in the negative perception of reality, including the one on the ontological level. It found expression in daily life and production practice. On the basis of source materials and research of literature, the article draws conclusions about the presence in the minds of the workers of negativism, fatalism and feelings of hopelessness which resulted in untidy living conditions, alcoholism, deviant behavior, hostility towards the state and their direct management (along with the belief in a “good tzar” and the remnants of the patriarchal structure), high ontological status of “alchohol providers” who broke the bonds of “mortal” world. The vast majority of Siberian workers were illiterate, unskilled or semi-skilled, significant proportion of the workers had only recently left the village preserving some connections with it. Of course, in this strata the traditional paradigm of mind must have been dominant which, in our opinion, was confirmed by subsequent events in Russian history.