Politicization of environmental problems: network determinants of protest activity in modern Russia

Abstract

The article is based on the results of a sociological research conducted by the author’s team in 2019 in three federal districts and it considers the problem of protest sentiment in a number of regions of the Russian Federation. Design/Methodology/Approach: The methodological basis of the research is represented by an interdisciplinary approach, the implementation of which made it possible to obtain reliable knowledge about the network determinants of modern social protests and the peculiarities of their influence on the mass consciousness of the population by sharing resources, sociological, mathematical, combinatorial, neural network apparatus and graph theory. Findings: The idea is justified that environmental problems are triggers of social discontent, the growth of protest moods and, as a result, the causes of protests. The idea of the reasons for politicization of environmentalists and the politicization of ecology is justified. It is proved that currently in Russia there is an mainstreaming of environmental issues; its transition to a new quality is observed. Originality/Value: The authors conclude that environmental problems are a factor, a catalyst, a cause, a condition for the growth of protest sentiment in the regional community. The work justifies the idea that certain political forces use the environmental agenda in order to consolidate around themselves a protest-minded electorate