The Motives and Value Dominants of Protests in Assessments of Leaders of Protest Actions and Youth

The growth of the protest activity of the Russian youth is one of the key tasks that needs addressing to in order to ensure the stability of the political system of the state. The purpose of the work is to consider the influence of various value orientations of young people on the willingness to participate and organize protest actions. The article presents the results of an all-Russian questionnaire survey of young people aged from 14 to 35 on the problem of protest activity and protest potential. 2 302 respondents were interviewed by the method of questioning. In addition, 15 interviews were conducted with the leaders of the protest actions that took place in Russia with the participation of young people. The results obtained during the empirical study allow us to conclude that participation in protest actions for modern Russian youth involves the manifestation of not only ideological attitudes, but also the need to belong to a social group. According to every fifth respondent, young people participate in protest actions for company. However, protest behavior is also associated with the lack of institutionalized channels of influence on decision-making, with an opinion about a high level of corruption and young people's assessment of ongoing political processes as a crisis of power. The authors draw attention to the importance of material wealth with the low importance of quality education and public recognition. According to experts, protests rather express fundamental values ​​and the vision of an ideal future by young people. In other words, the protest is perceived not as a situational activity, but as a long-term strategy for gaining a political voice for young people.