State and dynamics of protest activity in modern Russian society

Protest actions of the population are the most important factor in the transformation of the society's political systems. The authors consider protest moods monitoring to be an indicator of the government legitimacy and an integral part of public opinion. At the same time, indicators of citizens' protest activity often become hostages of political technologies and public consciousness manipulation. The paper attempts to give an analytical description of dynamic potential and actual indicators of street protest activity in modern Russian society, which is done based on the materials of monitoring surveys conducted by leading sociological agencies, as well as information from the media and non-government organizations. It is shown that street protest activity as such can indicate deep social contradictions in Russian society. The main reason for mass protests of the population is essential problems that affect specific vital interests of ordinary people. In addition, the border between socioeconomic and political requirements is becoming increasingly blurred. At the same time, it is revealed that manifestations of street protest activity in modern society are situational. The social resource of rallies and demonstrations among the population is relatively limited. Survey data indicate that the majority of Russian citizens do not support participation in mass protests against decreasing living standards, in defense of their rights. In case of such protests they will most likely not take part in them, and, in general, they hold an opinion that mass street protest movement is unlikely to develop. According to the authors, the possible scenario for the protest situation development in society will depend on what problem factors determining the «peak» social tension and protest potential will coincide, as well as on the intensity of those factors.