Young Political Activists in the Ural Region: are there Political Career Opportunities or Prospects for Social Changes?

Abstract

The paper provides the study outcomes with respect to the political activism process by young people as illustrated by the comparative analysis of campaigns by young activists of pro-governmental and opposition political organizations of the Urals Federal District.
 The conclusions made by the authors are based on the results of the quantitative survey of activists from the pro-governmental youth socio-political organizations (N = 304) and non-systematic opposition activists (N = 298), as well as on informal interviews with young representatives of political parties and movements (22 interviews).
 According to the findings, the crucial role in motivating the political participation of young activists is played by value-based sociocentric attitudes: a sense of civic responsibility and a strive for a more equitable society. Pragmatic attitudes towards career and self-fulfilment in the socio-political sphere are of less importance. Negative social well-being is typical for both groups of respondents, but it is stronger among opposition-minded young people and is the major motivator for them to be engaged with politics.
 The significant differences between the pro-government and opposition activists in the course of their political self-identification have been identified: pro-government activists are characterized by the vague and indefinite ideological views, while the ideological orientation of opposition youth is more clearly defined and focused mainly on liberalism.
 The common characteristic of the idea regarding the ideal social structure for both groups of activists is a high standard of living. However, pro-government and opposition activists significantly differ in their views regarding other ideas about the social ideal: opposition-minded young people put a greater focus on the role of information technologies, the market economy, tolerance for minorities, and humanism, while pro-government activists much more often refer to the significance of a strong government and the country’s international credibility.
 These differences in ideas regarding the goals of political participation on the background of the negative social well-being of varying degrees determine the choice of relevant forms of political activities by young people.