Territorial analysis of political preferences of the population (based on the lower volga mesoregion of the southern federal district of Russia)

Introduction. In modern Russian society, understanding of elections as an important component of the country’s social and political life in the context of differences in political orientations of the population is increasingly affirmed. This statement makes it possible to consider the geography of elections both in individual regions and in the country as a whole, as well as to conduct a deep historical analysis to better understand the current political processes in the country. Methods. It seems most important to consider this problem in the context of the federal elections for the post of President of the Russian Federation using the statistical method. The comparative and cartographic methods contribute to a better understanding of geographical features of political preferences of the electorate. Analysis. The study shows that the development of any process, including political one, is seriously influenced by the regional specificity of the territory, affecting all of its spheres. In this regard, it is necessary to single out the reasons for the nature of changes in electoral preferences of voters in the territory under study. Results. The authors trace the dynamics of the electoral activity of the population of the Lower Volga mesoregion in the presidential elections. The researchers reveal the change of electoral preferences of voters for the period under review. The paper presents the territorial analysis of the political preferences of the population identified in the process of federal elections; marks their multidirectional nature. The authors identify the main reasons for the changes in electoral preferences of voters in the Lower Volga mesoregion at the presidential elections.