REPRESENTATION OF CIVIC ACTIVITY IN THE YAROSLAVL REGION: URBAN AND RURAL ASPECTS

The paper presents the results of the study of civil society in the Yaroslavl region, conducted in early 2024. Within the framework of the present research, the authors identified and examined the prevailing patterns of perception and implementation of civic engagement from the perspective of citizens, representatives of non-profit organizations and employees of public authorities of the Yaroslavl Oblast. By analyzing the data collected, key trends in civic engagement in urban and rural areas of the region were identified, including by comparing statistics from the past studies. A particular emphasis was placed on the analysis of the interaction between citizens and public organizations, as well as the assessment of the development of communication between representatives of the non-profit sector and the authorities. The paper outlines the importance of the Internet in promoting civic engagement, especially through the digital transformation of socio-political interactions between government and society. The research findings indicate an ambiguity in the representation of civic engagement in the region, and demonstrate an absence of significant changes in recent years. As revealed, the rural NCOs are more inclined to interact with municipal structures, while their urban counterparts are more extensively oriented towards a broader range of interactions, including regional authorities and universities. The data gathered indicates that the rural population exhibits a lower level of trust in NCOs compared to their urban counterparts. Furthermore, rural NCOs experience less support from the authorities as compared to urban NCOs, which suggests the unequal distribution of resources. Notwithstanding, the results may prove beneficial for authorities, public organizations and other relevant institutions working in cooperation with the public. The paper presents the results of polls conducted among the population of the Yaroslavl region, in addition to the findings from expert polls amongst regional authorities and non-profit sector representatives.