The Protest Potential of the Population of Sverdlovsk Oblast

The article analyzes the potential for political and social protest in Sverdlovsk Oblast. Based on the results of a sociological study, it explores the political preferences of the population, as well as the impact of socioeconomic problems on the realization of protest potential. It assesses the factors that impede the activation of the potential for protest. It examines the transformation of the population’s electoral preferences as compared with the results of previous elections to the region’s legislative bodies. Special attention is devoted to negative socioeconomic trends with an emphasis on the labor market. It characterizes the social portrait of a potential protest movement, using cross-regional and retrospective analysis.