VECTORS OF TRANSFORMATION OF THE PARTY SYSTEM AND ELECTORAL EXPECTATIONS OF RUSSIANS

Abstract

The article studies the phenomenon of «social turn» in the development of the modern Russian party system. The electoral cycle that ended in 2021 might be seen as unique for several reasons. Firstly, the transformation of the Russian party system was accelerated under the influence of global problems, especially the COVID19 pandemic. Secondly, the structure of the party system became more complicated due to the emergence of new actors and a significant renewal of the lower house of parliament. Thirdly, in recent years, the influence of modern technologies and digital communication tools of political parties increased significantly. These processes contribute to the intensive aggregation of the interests of groups focused on strengthening the social functions of the state. This study implements a hybrid strategy of empirical research and uses a combination of methods and tools that allow working simultaneously with offline and online environments (cognitive mapping of branded content, social media analysis of parties’ information flows, eyetracking analysis). It shows that the changes taking place in the Russian party system are controversial. The process of transformation of political parties, including their familiarization with the modern realities of the digital age, does not correlate either with the dynamics and direction of electoral requests and expectations or with the declared public and institutional ideas and values. The study shows that the growing involvement of users in socially oriented information flows in the context of low functionality of the digital infrastructures of the left parties threatens to form dissonance in the public consciousness and increase political discontent, which can be used by destructive political forces. The results of the study actualize the problems of consolidation and reset of leftwing party projects in Russia, as well as the creation of a unified social project with the joint participation of the state, political parties, and civil society.