Attitude of the Population to the Protests in the Provincial City

The paper considers the attitude of the population of a provincial city (on the example of the Saransk city) to the protest action against corruption in the higher echelons of power, which took place on March 26, 2017. The author considers citizens' attitudes revealed during the mass questionnaire survey, and uses the methods of network analysis to study the local community of protesters in the social network VKontakte. As a result, the author concludes that the population of provincial cities potentially represents a significant resource group for expressing protest. Especially it concerns young people aged 18 to 34 who actively use digital content. The problem of the localization of the protest is actualized due to the fact that provincial societies are traditionally not subject to serious social and political upheavals, so the drama of protest actions is intensified and becomes discussed at all levels. The results of the study show that representatives of the opposition seek to reach out to young people, using the environment in which they are located, and promoting socially significant but somewhat idealistic ideas of fighting corruption in the highest echelons of power.