Russian Protest Moods and Actions
How to Cite
Latov Y.V. 2017. Russian Protest Moods and Actions — Sociologicheskaja nauka i social’naja praktika. Vol. 5. No. 1. P. 49-69. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/snsp.2017.5.1.4992
Abstract
Based on Russia-wide surveys conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISRAS) in monitoring regime, the article considers the probability of formation “revolutionary situation” in modern Russia and the growth of mass protests of the “lower classes”.Comparison of the survey results, conducted in the spring of 2016, with the previous “waves” proves that in the near future (a year or two) “revolutionary situation” will remain for Russia only as a “dangerous ghost” — mass protests like the Ukrainian Maidan Revolution in 2013—2014, or even like the events of 2011—2013, will only be a potential threat, rather than a reality. Particularly, this is justified because of the fact that in 2015 there was observed, although slightly higher, a still moderate level of personal participation in various massive protests, and at that time, 2—4% of Russians were involved in them. Moreover, modern protest actions are mainly economic in nature: there are protests against redundancies and rising prices, but they are not against the government. There is an interesting paradox: many people protest against the existing social and economic “game rules”, but their protest is not consolidated; the protest against the existing political institutions has its “leaders” (the liberal opposition), but this protest is much less massive. At the same time we should pay attention to the dangerous phenomenon of relatively high volatility of protest activity characteristics — Russian citizens are able to change abruptly their social and political preferences in response to the “annoying” events.
Keywords:
protests, opposition, social well-being, monitoring
References
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Gapich A, LushnikovD. 2010. Tehnologii cvetnyh revoljucij. [Technologies of color revolutions]. M.: Rior. 132 p. (In Russ.).
Garr T. R. 2005. Pochemu ljudi buntujut. [Why people are rebelling]. SPb.: Piter. 461 p. (In Russ.).
Gotovo li rossijskoe obshhestvo k modernizacii? 2010. [Russian society is willing to upgrade?]. Ed. by M. K. Gorshkov, R. Krumm, N. E. Tihonova. M.: Izdatel’stvo «Ves’ Mir». 344 p. (In Russ.).
Dvadcat’ let reform glazami rossijan: opyt mnogoletnih sociologicheskih zamerov. 2011. [Twenty years of reforms by eyes of Russians: the experience of sociological mea¬surements]. Ed. by M. K. Gorshkov, R. Krumm, V. V. Petuhov. M.: Izdatel’stvo «Ves’ Mir». 328 p. (In Russ.).
Izmenjajushhajasja Rossija v zerkale sociologii. 2004. [A changing Russia in the mirror of sociology]. Ed. by M. K. Gorshkov, N. E. Tihonova. M.: Letnij sad. 280 p. (In Russ.).
Inozemcev V. L. 2016. Slovo na bukvu «R» [The word on the letter “R”]. [online]. Snob. URL: https://snob.ru/selected/entry/104603#comment 817663 (accessed 03.02.2017).
Kara-Murza S. 2006. Revoljucii na jeksport. [Revolution for export]. M.: Jeksmo. 119 p. (In Russ.).
Manojlo A. V. 2015. Cvetnye revoljucii i tehnologii demontazha politicheskih rezhimov. [Color revolutions and technologies of disassembly of political regimes]. Mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija. № 1. P. 1—19. (In Russ.).
Marks K., Jengel’s F 1956. Sochinenija, toma 1—39. Izdanie vtoroe. [Works]. M.: Izdatel’stvo politicheskoj literatury, 1955—1974. T. 7. 670 p. (In Russ.).
Nureev R. M. 2008. Jekonomika razvitija: modeli stanovlenija rynochnoj jekonomiki: uchebnik dlja studentov jekonomicheskih vuzov i fakul’tetov: 2-e izd. [Development Economics: models of es¬tablishing market economy: textbook for students of economic universities and faculties]. M.: Norma. 640 p. (In Russ.).
O chjom mechtajut rossijane: ideal i real’nost’. 2013. [The dream of the Russians]. Ed. by M. K. Gorshkov, R. Krumm, N. E. Tihonova. M.: Izdatel’stvo «Ves’ Mir». 400 p. (In Russ.).
Ponomareva E., Rudov G. 2012. «Cvetnye revoljucii»: priroda, simvoly, tehnologii [Colour revo¬lutions: nature, symbols, technology]. Obozrevatel’-observer. № 3. P. 36—48. (In Russ.).
Problemy strany i kak ih reshat’. 2015. [online]. VCIOM. Press-vypusk № 2776. 17.02.2015. URL: http://wciom.ru/index.php?id=236&uid=115151 (accessed 03.02.2017). (In Russ.).
Rossijskaja identichnost’ v sociologicheskom izmerenii. 2008. [The country’s problems and how to solve them]. M.: Institut sociologii RAN. 72 p. (In Russ.).
Rossijskaja povsednevnost’ v uslovijah krizisa. 2009. [Russian everyday life in crisis]. Ed. by M. K. Gorshkov, R. Krumm, N. E. Tihonova. M.: Al’fa-M. 272 p. (In Russ.).
Rossijskoe obshhestvo i vyzovy vremeni. Kniga pervaja. 2015. [Russian society and the challenges of time. The first book].Ed. by M. K. Gorshkov, V. V. Petuhov; Institut sociologii RAN. M.: Izdatel’stvo «Ves’ Mir». 336 p. (In Russ.).
Rossijskoe obshhestvo i vyzovy vremeni. Kniga vtoraja. 2015. [Russian society and the challeng¬es of time. The second book]. Ed. by. M. K Gorshkov, V. V. Petuhov; Institut sociologii RAN. M.: Izdatel’stvo «Ves’ Mir». 432 p. (In Russ.).
Rossijskoe obshhestvo i vyzovy vremeni. Kniga tret’ja. 2016. [Russian society and the challenges of time. The third book]. Ed. by M. K Gorshkova, N. E. Tihonova; Institut sociologii RAN. M.: Izdatel’stvo «Ves’ Mir». 424 p. (In Russ.).
Rossijskoe obshhestvo i vyzovy vremeni. Kniga chetvjortaja. 2016. [Russian society and the chal¬lenges of time. The forth book].Ed. by M. K. Gorshkov, V. V. Petuhov; Institut sociologii RAN. M.: Izdatel’stvo «Ves’ Mir». 400 p. (In Russ.).
Rossija na novom perelome: strahi i trevogi. 2009. [Russia on the new turn: fears and anxieties]. Ed. by M. K. Gorshkov, R. Krumm, V. V. Petuhov. M.: Al’fa-M. 160 p. (In Russ.).
Social’naja politika i social’nye reformy glazami rossijan. 2007. [Social policy and social reforms with eyes of Russians]. M.: Institut sociologii RAN. 108 p.
Jakunin V. I., Bagdasarjan V. Je., Sulakshin S. S. 2009. Novye tehnologii bor’by s rossijskoj gosu- darstvennost’ju. [New technologies of fighting the Russian statehood]. M.: Nauchnyj jeksperto 424 p. (In Russ.).
Fragile States Index [online]. The Fund for Peace URL: http://fsi.fundforpeace.org/rankings-2015 (accessed 03.02.2017).
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:
Harvard
Latov, Y. V. (2017) ’Russian Protest Moods and Actions’, Sociologicheskaja nauka i social’naja praktika, 5(1), pp. 49-69. doi: https://doi.org/10.19181/snsp.2017.5.1.4992.
Section
RUSSIAN SOCIETY TODAY
Publisher: Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FCTAS RAS)