The institution of the presidency: Russian specifics in the context of global change

The attitude to the head of state in Russia plays a key role in the relations between the authorities andsociety. Thisstems from the specificsofthe Russian mentalitythat has a historical predisposition to the monarchical form of government with a “strong” head of state and exaggerates the role of the leader's personality. Such characteristics are inherent in the attitude of the population toward the presidency in contemporary Russia, when the personality of the President is above the institute itself, and it unites the citizens. Currently an upsurge of patriotism and social consolidation around the President are conditioned by the complicated international situation and anti-Russian economic sanctions. This further increases the level of trust in the President; and the people hope his actions will contribute to the successful resolution of the crisis in Ukraine, strengthen stability and promote the prosperity of the population. The assessment of Russian President's performance by the Vologda Oblast residents has been studied using the ISEDT RAS monitoring data for 2000-2014 and the data provided by other sociological centers. As a result, the dynamics of approval of the RF President's performance has been revealed, as well as possible reasons for the fluctuations in the assessment of his work.