Political marketing of activism in Russia: Causes, peculiarities and results

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.

Keywords

• political campaigns
• civil and political activism
• mobilization
• russia
• relative deprivation theory (davies‘ j-curve)
• spiral of silence
• “overwhelming majority” phenomenon