Protest as Scream, Work, and Faith: The Formation of a Protest Identity (Based on Studies in Siberian Cities)

The article discusses how a protest identity is formed, what the meaning of protesters' activities is, and how this meaning determines protesters' life priorities. The empirical basis of the article is a secondary analysis of studies on Russian cities, statistical data, analysis of the course and results of election campaigns, publications in the media and social networks, regular observations of rallies, interviews, conversations with activists (more than 50), several focus groups and seminars. The theoretical framework of the study is set by Jack Goldstone's model, which proposes a prognostic model of extraordinary events of various - from state and national to organizational - scales. The model is based on the effectiveness of government (the ability of the state to reproduce social institutions and meet cultural expectations), on the degrees of dissatisfaction and of competition of elites, and on protesters' ideas about the regime. Based on the collected data, the author argues that the basis of protest is a complex of emotional reactions associated with the violation of the usual perception of the position of the group the individual identifies himself with (scream). The next stage is the organization of the community, establishment of regular interaction, development of goals and means to achieving them, nomination of leaders (work). Notably, this activity is rather selfless in nature. Over time, interacting with enemy opponents, protest becomes an element of personal life (faith). The main directions of modern protest are: state patriotic, socialist, and liberal. Presumably, in prosperous, democratic cities with developed media (Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk, Abakan), protest associations will become an element of formal political competition. Street politics will be a significant complement, a demonstration of strength, a way of uniting around the leaders of all the three directions (state patriotic, socialist, and liberal). In cities of average economic prosperity with serious environmental and social problems (Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk, Omsk, Chita), protest is more likely to occur in the form of short-term local outbreaks. In cities with a difficult economic and social situation (Gorno-Altaysk, Kyzyl, Ulan-Ude, Barnaul), effective protests are unlikely.

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