ELECTIONS WITH A KNOWN RESULT: ABSENTEEISM OF RUSSIAN STUDENTS

Abstract

In the report there is analyzed the impact of the main scenario of

competition for candidates for the presidency of Russia in the March

2018 elections for the electoral behavior of Russian students. We made

an empirical study (2518 respondents, questionnaires; series of focus

groups) in order to identify the level of electoral activity and models of

electoral absenteeism of Russian students, motivation to participate in

voting and refusal to vote, the system of factors determining the strategy

of behavior in elections, etc. In the course of the study, the role of social

networks in the electoral moods formation of Russian students was

revealed, an assessment of the state of the two components of the

student's political identity (ideological and personified identity) was

analyzed, and the influence of the socio-demographic and status

characteristics of Russian students on their electoral behavior was

analyzed. It was discovered the accumulation of systemic and situational

factors that determine the strategy of students' electoral behavior in the

situation of obvious outcome of voting.