Political Culture of Youth: Civic Consciousness in Political Consciousness and Behavior

The article presents the results of a study of the political culture of youth in modern Russia on the example of Krasnoyarsk, a city with the population of one million people. The phenomenon of political culture was investigated using the orientational approach supplemented by an important behavioral component - the study of political behavior. Political culture began to be defined as a category that includes both orientations (feelings, sensations, knowledge, opinions, attitudes) and behavior (action or inaction). When defining civic consciousness in the political culture of young people, the authors focused on the study of two of its components - consciousness and behavior. The study of the political culture of modern youth from the point of view of the formation of civic (conscious and activist) behavior is due to the direct relationship of the problems of youth's socialization with the harmonious development of society, with its further socioeconomic and political prospects. The study made it possible to identify the type of the political consciousness of young people and the model of their behavior in politics. Young people today prefer social justice but are not ready to sacrifice their interests for the sake of the needs of society. The support of the value of individual freedom by the majority of the respondents demonstrates that at this age individualistic interests and the desire to be independent are great. This result also suggests that young people are reflecting on the sociopolitical situation in Russia and the world. The respondents today associate the importance of participation in social and political life with their existing civic duty. Taking into account that the most widespread form of participation in politics for young people is elections, we can assume that it is coming to the elections that young people consider as fulfillment of their civic duty. The study revealed the predominance of a conscious motive in the experience of political activity among young people engaged in work or study.

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