Triggers of political mobilization of mass protests in social media of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in 2020-2021

The article presents the results of the consideration of protest mobilization triggers in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in 2020-2021. The applied research methodology is based on a hybrid strategy that combines cognitive mapping, social media analysis and event analysis. As a result, the authors reveal that the primary mobilization of protest was carried out based on a resonant event in the political sphere. To build an engaged audience, economic and social discourses were used. Protest moderators use value-influencing techniques and manipulative technologies that perform the task of scaling and forming attitudes of agreement with the ideas being promoted.