The state of public city protection movements (on the example of Barnaul)

Abstract

The subject of this article is the city protection movement in Barnaul. On the background of strengthening of authoritarian trends in political life of the country, takes place reorientation of the vector of civil activity from solution of the political problems of federal scale towards the local social issues. Namely the local public movements become an important element in the society of separate cities that allow the interaction between civil activists, society, and municipal authorities. The advancement of Internet and social networks greatly contributed to broadening of the audience of city protection communities, growth of opportunities for their influence upon public consciousness and government authorities. Assessment of the size, publication activity and staff composition of the city mono-problem communities in social networks in the key method for studying the city public movements. The research determined the presents of a number of organizations in Barnaul oriented toward the general questions (preservation of historical center of the city, protection of park zones, etc.), as well as solution of particular problems. The author also underlines a large portion of youth (below 30 years of age) among the members of city protection communities. Despite the fact that currently the social database is restricted, members of the communities actively participate in city life, using the Internet as an environment for public self-presentation and channel for communication with population, government, and mass media.