Economic and political processes taking place in Russian society are accompanied by the spread of social strain. The potential protest activity of the population is an aspect of its manifestation on the socio-psychological level. Young people, which carry out important social functions in modern conditions, act as the special subject of protest behavior. The article presents the dynamics of protest potential of young people in the Vologda Oblast in the period from 2008 to 2015, and the factors that determine the protest mood. The study is conducted on the basis of regular monitoring carried out by ISEDT RAS in the region. According to the monitoring, in the period from 2008 to 2015, the protest potential of young people is 18–22% on average. According to the analysis, the accumulation of latent protest activity is influenced by several groups of factors: negative socio-political attitudes; negative attitude towards the authorities; dissatisfaction of young people with their own financial situation and the general economic situation in the country and the region. A catalyst for protest moods of the younger generation is due to their inherent specific socio-psychological qualities, which include a tendency to undue risk, nonconformity, perfectionism, and heightened emotionality. The analysis showed that in the conditions of a low but stable level of protest potential among young people in the region, the main task of the authorities is to develop and correct the strategy of regional social policy to reduce social strain, to avoid the possibility of escalating hidden, latent discontent in the unrest and disorders. It is also necessary to develop and implement a wide range of specialized targeted programs (education, housing, development of creativity, sports, tourism, support of young families etc.) for a given social group
Keywords
social well-being, social conflict, protest potential, young people, economic situation, socio-political moods