Protest potential in the region in the context of national security

Formation and development of social tension in society represents a potential threat to national security at the national level and at the level of regions of the Russian Federation with regard to possibility of destructive forms of social interaction, conflicts, socio-political “explosion”, i.e. a sharp transition of latent protest moods into open protest actions that have a negative impact on the system of power relations. One of the manifestations of social tension in the certain territory is the formation of population's protest potential, which refers to the intention (inclination) of citizens to participate in protests under certain conditions. The article presents the results of monitoring studies of the dynamics of protest potential in the Vologda Oblast; it also characterizes protest mood in different socio-demographic groups of the region's population and factors that contribute to the formation of protest sentiments. The study was conducted on the basis of regular monitoring by ISEDT RAS in the Vologda Oblast.