Abstract
The article discusses the concept of civil society. The evolution of ideas is studied, including the creation of L- and M- conceptions. As part of the M-concept, in which civil society is understood as public organizations relatively autonomous from the state and diverse connections between them, normative and positivist approaches are distinguished. It is substantiated that the normative approach, in which civil society is understood as a community of organizations with liberal views, is associated with the L-concept. Modern Russian trends related to the division “from above” of civil society organizations according to the criterion of loyalty are analyzed. The first steps have been taken to single out the categories of non-liberal civil organizations. The conclusion is made about the expediency of using the concept of a “diverse civil society” in scientific analysis.