The Attitude of Russian Students to Color Revolutions

Abstract

The article analyzes the results of the sociological study «The attitude of Russian students to color revolutions, political and legal measures to counter them» (N = 1652), carried out in 2016–2017 by means of questioning the respondents at their home higher schools. The sampling frame was the quota approach to representation of students of higher schools of the Russian Federation federal districts. The study revealed the correspondence of understanding by the majority of students of the essence of color revolutions to the existing interpretations of this phenomenon in the public information space: «technologies of coups d’etat», «violent change of a legitimate power», «foreign interference into the internal political and constitutional processes of countries». Students underestimate the destructive impact of color revolutions on the society. The level of the protest mood depends on social conditions and unemployment. There are regional differences in the assessment of conditions that might provoke the emergence of a color revolution in modern Russia. Students of the territories, where the material well-being is lower, but the interest in politics and experience of participation in political actions is higher, estimate the risk of a color revolution in the country as more probable. Among the measures to counteract color revolutions, along with the legal mechanisms of protecting the information space, students propose that measures to combat corruption and improve living standards, taking into account the interests of the population, be strengthened.