Features of manifestation and regulation of grassroots civic activity in the Yaroslavl region

   The article deals with the analysis of the peculiarities in regulation and development of grassroots civic activity in the Yaroslavl region. New grassroots participation practices expand the opportunities for proactive citizens, allowing them to connect and interact with each other. The article analyzes the regulation of grassroots civic activity, identifies the main actors of grassroots civic initiatives and their motives. It is noted that the goals and motives of civil society activists are quite differentiated: some are trying to solve a specific issue to improve the life of society, while others see in civil activism an opportunity to self-actualize. The article identifies the characteristics and distinctive features of the development of grassroots civic activity in the Yaroslavl region compared to other subjects of the Russian Federation. The paper emphasizes the importance of building a dialogue between government structures and participants in grassroots civic activism, in order to more effectively solve socio-political issues. Experts assess the activities of associations of territorial public self-government as a form of grassroots civic activity. The conclusion is made about the weak involvement of residents in their activities. The results of the study demonstrate that there is a strong cooperative mechanism of interaction in the Yaroslavl region, which provides for unions and coalitions to solve specific challenges.

1. Abirov, M.S. (2013), “On the basic conditions for the formation and development of civil society in the social system”, Sotsial’no-ekonomicheskie yavleniya i protsessy, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 221–225.

2. Babkina, A.O. and Ponamarev, A.B. (2023), “Weak civil society as a key concern of public power in modern Russia”, Molodoi uchenyi, vol. 465, no. 18, pp. 269–271.

3. Galkova, I.V. (2015), “Regional conditions for the development of non-profit organizations as civil society institutions”, Vestnik Buryatskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, iss. 14-1, pp. 119–124.

4. Gromova, M.N. and Mersiyanova, I.V. (2016), “State support for NPOs and the issue of evaluating its effectiveness”, Grazhdanskoe obshchestvo v Rossii i za rubezhom, no. 1, pp. 44–47.

5. Devicheva, A.A. (2016), “Organization and functioning of civil society institutions in modern Russia”, Nauchno-metodicheskii elektronnyi zhurnal “Kontsept”, vol. 15, pp. 2686–2690, available at: https://e-koncept.ru/2016/96458.htm?ysclid=mb7nsr4fqh522892482 (Accessed 6 March 2025).

6. Kirsanov, A.Yu. (2013), “Classification of civil society institutions in Russia”, Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta MVD Rossii, no. 3, pp. 58–61.

7. Kruglov, M.S. (2012), “Civil initiatives and opposition in the Russian political process”, RSUH/RGGU Bulletin. “Political Science. History. International Relations. Area Studies. Oriental Studies” Series, vol. 82, no. 1, pp. 152–161.

8. Makoveeva, V.V. (2012), “Networking is a key factor in the development of integration of education, science and business”, Tomsk State University Journal, no. 354, pp. 163–166.

9. Molodov, O.B. (2016), “Issues of civil society development at the regional level”, Problemy razvitiya territorii, vol. 86, no. 6, pp. 132–146.

10. Petukhov, V.V. (2019), “Civic involvement in modern Russia. Interaction of political and social practices”, Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya, no. 12, pp. 3–14.

11. Petukhov, V.V., Barash, R.E., Sedova, N.N. and Petukhov, R.V. (2014), “Civil activism in Russia. Motivation, values and forms of participation”, Vlast’, no. 9, pp. 11–19.

12. Polyushkevich, O.A. (2018), “Creativeness and openness of Irkutsk public space”, Sotsiologiya, no. 4, pp. 143–150.

13. Reutov, E.V. (2022), “The potential of youth civic engagement in the development of local self-government”, Upravlenie gorodom: teoriya i praktika, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 36–41.

14. Sedova, N.N. (2014), “Civic activism in modern Russia”, Sotsiologicheskii zhurnal, no. 2, pp. 48–71.

15. Tirova, S.S. and Zalivanskii, B.V. (2018), “Involving the population in making municipal management decisions”, Alleya nauki, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 512–518, available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=34975141 (Accessed 6 March 2025).

16. Trofimova, I.N. (2015), “Generational factor of civic engagement in Russian society”, Sotsiologicheskaya nauka i sotsial’naya praktika, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 5–17.

17. Khalikov, M.I. (2016), “Modern management technologies for involving the population in solving local issues”, Ekonomika i upravlenie : nauchno-prakticheskii zhurnal, vol. 132, no. 4, pp. 48–53.

18. Sheludyakova, T.V. and Sheludyakov, E.S. (2015), “Historical transformation of the concept of civil society”, Grazhdanskoe obshchestvo v Rossii i za rubezhom, no. 3, pp. 21–24.