Mass Movements in Modern Russia (On the Example of the Movement in Support of Alexei Navalny)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the organization and conduct of mass movements in modern Russia. A review of a number of mass movements in Russia was made: the March to Moscow of the trade union of workers of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the rally of medical workers in Moscow, the protest movement of truckers against the Platon toll system. The movement in support of Alexei Navalny in 2017 was analyzed to give a detailed description of the specificity of the functioning of mass movements in modern Russia. The choice of this movement was due to its mass character, publicity of activity, wide media coverage, political significance, the use of various tools for mobilizing the masses. The study was based on three main methods: case study, event analysis, network analysis. The authors described the goals and resources of this movement's organization, the chronology, conducted a quantitative analysis of the mass events, determined the status of the events. In order to analyze the scale of Navalny' s activities on organizing mass actions, the authors analyzed offline collective actions in 2017 in the Central Federal District of Russia (based on 265 information sources). The online activity was analyzed on the example of social network pages of the Anti-Corruption Foundation for the period from September 2017 to February 2018. The purpose of the analysis was to determine the links between the created pages of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (Vkontakte, Facebook, Twitter) and to identify the most frequently used forms of activity (likes, re-posts, comments). The analysis made it possible to reveal that the greatest relationship is with posts posted on social networks Vkontakte and Facebook (98%). The study revealed a pattern: posts that receive the greatest response from users have the largest number of likes, reposts and comments. Thus, the reaction of users is expressed immediately in all possible forms. Users pay more attention to posts with a significant number of likes, reposts and comments. More likes contribute to the growth of re-posts and comments to the post. Navalny achieved his popularity largely due to a competent Internet campaign, which included investigations, protection of citizens' rights, massive use of social networks to mobilize his supporters, direct communication with them and organization of performances. Internet platforms created by Navalny are a key mechanism for mobilizing the masses of the population. The large array of information disseminated through Internet platforms contributes to the formation of common interests and the unification of participants to collective action. Thus, it can be stated that Navalny has formed an effective symbiosis of collective action tools based on both online and offline elements.

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