Non-systemic opposition in modern Russia: stages of transformation and political activity technologies

The present study considers the specifics of transformation of the Russian non-systemic opposition in 2000-2020, and the main technologies of its activity at present time. The first stage of changes (2000-2011) was characterized by marginalization of opposition in the context of development of a stable “Putin majority” and the building of a “vertical of power”. The second stage (2012-2017) was associated with the activation of opposition forces against the background of the so-called “fatigue effect”, as well as the pressure on social, economic and political processes from the government. The third stage (since 2018 till present), which was initiated by the pension reform, is characterized by the erosion of trust in the government institutions and the growth of local protest moods, which were mainly socially oriented. Among the political technologies used by non-systemic actors these days it is important to outline the following: “embedding” in local protest actions; territorial differentiation of protests (their transfer from Moscow to the regions); total protest voting; attempt to design various attractive, although quite amorphous images of the future of Russia.