Environmental problems in public discourse of the North Caucasian federal district: social risks and conflict potential

Over the past decades, environmental problems have accumulated in the North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD), which reduce the region's opportunities for economic development, have a negative impact on quality of life of people, involve various groups of society in the eco-social process. In this article, the present problem is considered within the framework of environmental sociology: the attitude of various social groups to environmental risks largely depends on their socio-cultural interpretation, which can both construct conflicts and activate protest potential. Based on the media materials devoted to environmental problems in the Republic of Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, the peculiarities of society's perception of environmental risk are studied, protest moods and actions, forms of consolidation of citizens are analyzed. The study of the situation allows us to conclude that environmental conflicts can transform into socio-political ones, become the cause of protest actions, create social tension. The role of the media in the construction of such risks is revealed, the mobilizing influence of the information environment on the environmental consciousness and behavior of the citizens of the NCFD is determined.