Political participation of citizens in the affairs of the local community and the evolution of the institution of local self-government

The purpose of the study is to clarify the factors determining the political participation of citizens in the affairs of the local community, including their electoral activity. It was supposed to establish the relationship between the evolution of the institute and the political participation of citizens in them based on the materials of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Yugra. The objectives of the study were to establish the relationship between the dynamics of political participation in municipal elections and the evolution of the status of the institution of local government, as well as to clarify the current socio-demographic structure of citizens' participation in local community affairs. The research methods used data from a sociological survey, as well as an analysis of electoral statistics on municipal elections in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug during the 1994-2023 election cycles. Information from the State Archive of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug and publications of regional mass media were also used as sources. It has been established that low electoral activity at the municipal level is a consequence of the broader problem of reducing the level of political participation of citizens in the affairs of the local community. The objective reasons for this lie in the institutional sphere – in the process of gradual integration of local self-government into the system of public administration. The actual potential of citizens' participation in local government has been identified. The recommendations of the study can be used to implement institutional changes that will create an opportunity to solve the problem of political participation of citizens in the affairs of the local community.