Abstract
Civil and political activism is not a monolithic, “one-size-fits-all” phenomenon. It is rather viewed as nationally unique, segmented political attempts to engage different groups of citizens into a civil movement. The paper explores the specifics and effectiveness of some types of Russian civil and political activism—female, youth, unofficial, religious. Based on a political marketing communications framework, the author argues that paradoxical specifics of civil and political activism in Russia tend to avoid political slogans, demands as well as content, adhering to the principle of neutrality which is the main idea fn the contemporary Russian domestic policy. Despite the pronounced demand for activism and changes, people are unready to fight and revolt. Russians are not under a universal crisis of values and goals, which usually spurs negative political activism. Various analytical surveys, reports and official documents compiled by Russian official agencies and think-tanks in 2010–2018, support the author’s arguments.
Highlights
The article launches the research in the civil and political activism in Russia and its impacts on the ongoing developments; its traits are defined, among others, by Russian society ethnos—people’s psyche and mental outlook as projected on the life-world and political system of the society
Adequate theoretical models are to be identified, which can elucidate the extent of activism influence on the political market; to specify typical features of its “product” promotion in the market of political services; to expose the roots of success stories and failures of Russian civil and political activism; to reveal the specifics and a potential window for strategic efforts to optimize it
The “skeleton” of overall types of Russian civil and political activism formed, without its rigorous classification, as the classification demands broader empirical studies, no less than 100 objects must be analyzed in detail
Summary
For Russian citizens, it is not easy to make political protests and to participate in the political life of the country In the article, those types of political activity of Russians are considered that the authorities cannot avoid and which are used by the opposition forces for their own purposes: young people, believers, middle-class representatives. Despite the fact that the specifics of the Russians’ public demonstration of their discontent with power is the fear of being accused, the public’s demand for political activity is constantly growing. This does not lead to the formation of revolutionary mood in Russia due to the attitude of the Russians to their country.
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