Perception of socio-economic and political situation in Russia by student youth of the southern region (based on regional studies)

Abstract

The relevance of researching the perception of socio-economic and political processes in the country by the youth is driven by a social demand to understand the readiness of young people to participate in the country’s economic development, its political life, acceptable forms of migration and civic behaviour, and the level of protest potential. The aim of this article is to identify the interconnection of trends in evaluations by student youth regarding the socio-economic and socio-political situation with characteristics such as dependence on socio-psychological well-being, financial status, trust levels in political institutions and the political course, migration and protest attitudes. The empirical basis of the analysis comprises data from studies conducted among student youth of the Southern region of Russia from 2017 to 2022 by the Southern Russian branch of the FCTAS RAS. The analysis revealed the ambivalence of the state of public consciousness among student youth, both in their assessment of the socio-economic situation and the socio-political position in the country. Despite students’ uncertain future perceptions, their migration attitudes have hardly changed compared to 2017, aligning with nationwide tendencies. It was established that the student youth of the Southern region of Russia does not display significant interest in politics (similar to the broader Russian population), yet concurrently expresses a higher level of personalised trust in the President of Russia and the military, more so than in the overall political direction of the authorities. Ideas of social justice, freedom of speech, and expressing political stance resonate with students from the Southern region of Russia, as well as fostering friendly relations with the West. A trend was identified over the last 5 years of reduced ratings in the ability to express political views while having a high level of legal consciousness, alongside a growth in the acceptability of unlawful forms of protest due to increasing distrust in the government and its political course.