Institutionalization of the professional community of truck drivers (on the example of the association of truckers of Yakutia)

The impact of the institutionalization of the professional association of truck drivers-truckers of Yakutia on the formation and development of their civic position is analyzed in the article. The paper identifies the main forms of socio-political participation of the professional community of long-distance drivers in Yakutia. for this purpose, we used official documents, data from field studies (2017-2019) conducted by the author in Yakutsk and Tattinsky ulus of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia); the author conducted a content analysis of materials of the association of Yakut truckers and mass media published in open access on the internet. The article deals with the all-Russian strike of truck drivers against the introduction of the “Platon” system in 2015, which covered dozens of regions of the country. The strike is considered as one of the prerequisites for the formation of a civil position of the truck drivers community. A key factor in the development of citizenship of Yakut truckers was the creation of the public organization “The Association of Truckers of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)”, which marked the beginning of the institutionalization of this professional group. The study revealed that the community of truck drivers is characterized by the following features: civic consciousness of the professional community, social activity, the ability to bear social responsibility in conditions of insufficient existing state measures to support the population of remote and hard-to-reach settlements. Correlation of professional and social activity of truckers of Yakutia is revealed. The content and nature of the work of truck drivers, which are associated with the provision of life in the North and in the Arctic, determine their value orientations and civic position. The conclusion is formulated: the successful process of institutionalization of the professional community has an impact on the formation of the civic position of truck drivers in the region. The author believes that further study of the social practices of professional communities is a promising direction in the context of the development of civil society.