Protest attitudes of modern Russian youth

Abstract

Studies of protest attitudes among young people have recently acquired great scientific research significance. Youth protest activity is an indicator of public sentiment and reflects the level of socio-political tension in society. Within the framework of this study, the main research task is to study the nature and dynamics of the protest attitudes of modern Russian youth, to identify the level of awareness of young people about protests in the country, their willingness to participate in them, the opinions of young people about possible drivers of protest activity. Basic research methods: sociological questionnaire survey of Russian youth aged 14-30 (n = 2302), focus group. As a result of the study, it was found that an extremely small percentage of young people have not heard about the protest activity in the country; the majority have acquaintances who have taken part in protest actions over the past three years. At the same time, the survey revealed that about 20% of respondents express their readiness to take part in protest events in their city. Thus, we can note the high protest potential of Russian youth.

Motives for participation of youth in unauthorized protest actions

“…Современные отечественные исследователи также обращали внимание на проблему вовлечения российской молодежи в протестную деятельность. Обсуждалось стремление к самоидентичности как фактора участия в протестных акциях [18], наличие протестных настроений в молодежной среде [19][20][21][22][23], влияние цифровых коммуникаций на политический потенциал молодежи [24; 25], перспективы радикализации молодежных протестов [26], вопросы профилактики противоправного поведения несовершеннолетних [27]. В то же время проведенные исследования изучают в большей степени отношение молодежи к участию в протестных действиях, чем мотивы участия, что связано с особенностями объекта исследования.…”