From the enthusiasm of the «Crimean spring» to the frustrations of the «Russian winter»? On cognitive shifts in the minds of student youth of the Russian south (based on a series of sociological studies in 2015-2020)

The article presents the results of a series of sociological studies of youth consciousness among students of the South of Russia, conducted by scientists of the Southern Federal University in 2014-2015 and 2018-2019, which included group interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups. The authors analyze the changes that have occurred in student consciousness and connect them with shifts in the mass consciousness of Russian society as a whole. Among the most important conclusions of the article are the following: the euphoria of the Russian spring significantly reduced; students of the South of Russia are not concerned with foreign policy successes, but with internal social and economic issues. They are more concerned about the issues of quality of life, ecology, family and a successful career than the themes of Russia's greatness and its foreign policy influence.