Motives and factors of students’ political activity in the border territories of Siberia and the Far East

The article analyzes the motives and factors of political engagement/non-engagement of students from the border regions of Siberia and the Far East to predict the development of Russian political practices and assess the prospect of their involvement in the political process. The structuration theory of political action by Anthony Giddens serves as a methodology of the research. The data of the research have been obtained from polls of focus groups of grade 10 and 11 pupils, students of colleges and universities in Altai Krai, Zabaykalsky Krai, Primorsky Krai, Khabarovsky Krai, Omsk Oblast, the Republics of Altai, Tyva, Buryatia (October-November 2021). The polls’ conduct after the January protests and the election campaigns of 2021 made it possible to reveal the carefully considered opinions of young people about the motives of their current political behavior, the conditions and factors for the inclusion of young people in public policy. To reach the set goals, the authors analyzed the assessment by young people of the degree of political subjectivity in their social groups, their current attitudes to participation in protest actions, exercising of their active and passive electoral rights, the impact of digitalization, migration attitudes, attitudes to government policy, values and other factors on the choice of strategies and forms of young people’s political behavior. The conducted research has revealed the prevalence of skeptical assessments by pupils and students of their political abilities, as well as the association of political actions exclusively with protest movement. At the same time, the authors have observed that the state’s response to the protest movement of 2021 led to a reorientation of some young people from unconventional to conventional (elections, signing petitions, etc.) forms of political behavior to protect their interests, as well as to an increase in depoliticization of the youth. The most significant motives of this transformation are, on the one hand, fear and disappointment of young people in the effectiveness of mass politics, and, on the other hand, their desire for change, their pragmatism and interest. Against the background of the positive effect of the political process digitalization, the research shows a decrease in the influence of the value factor, migration attitudes and assessments of Russian policies on the political activeness of young people. The conclusion is made about switching the focus of student attention to ensuring personal comfort and self-fulfillment, and the probability of their return to public policy in the event of serious threats to these, as well as formation of their situational decision-making behavior. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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