Russian youth in institutional transformations: the determinants of non-participation

The authors study the transformation process in Russia (at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries) which was aimed at the institutional modernization of society. However, attempts to create informal institutions which could create a stabilizing basis in the community had the reverse process. The new institutions began to be "hybrid entities" and led the political sphere to the "institutional trap". The young generation was in especially difficult circumstances, because institutional innovations were additional difficulties in their current process of socialization; the new institutions also had a negative impact on the social, psychological and physiological characteristics of this group of people. The dynamics of the all-Russian opinion polls over the last ten years shows that the participation of the young generation in politics is at a low level, i.e. young people are not interested and involved in politics and do not trust political institutions. However, the young generation is a social group that is a factor of institutional innovation. Therefore, the study of the specificity of the political consciousness of young people, including those at the regional level, is important for the authors. Altai Krai and the Republic of Altai, which have the characteristics of traditional thinking and values, attract the attention of the authors. The consciousness of the population is affected by the subsidized nature of the region's economy, low living standards, and the lack of financial resources for the development of small and medium-sized businesses. This situation impacts the young generation. According to the poll conducted by the Center for Political Analysis and Technology of Altai State University, the youth of Altai Krai and the Republic of Altai bring the all-Russian experience of non-participation in the political sphere to the regional level. The young generation rarely addresses the issues of the political process, i.e. many respondents underestimate the importance of politics. At the same time, young people become active participants in other spheres of life such as family, education and personal success. The most important values for young people are individual liberty, private property, equality under the law. The authors hypothesize that the young generation is not involved in the political sphere because of the lack of trust in the institutions of society; it is an indicator of an inefficient youth policy. Therefore, the actual need for the political integration of the young generation today occurs in order to improve the quality of institutions.

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