Peculiarities of Generation Z’s perception of evolution of youth policy in modern Russia

The article presents results of the study of characteristics of the attitude of generation Z to state youth policy in modern Russia. Based on the analysis of various interpretations of generation Z, presented in domestic social science, it was concluded that it is possible to talk about its uniform characteristics only with a large degree of convention, taking into account the commonality of ubiquitous Internet communications that influence formation of the worldview and lifestyle of young people. The empirical basis of the article consists of materials from focus groups and online surveys of young people (2021 n = 519; 2022 n = 2021; 2023 n = 852) conducted by the faculty of Political Science Department, Saratov State University, under the leadership of the author. Based on these materials, it was proved that there are no uniform typological characteristics of modern Russian youth, which is heterogeneous and continues to differ not only in age and gender criteria, but also in ideological and sociocultural grounds, ideological preferences, place of residence, level of education and financial situation. In general, the study showed that, despite the presence of positive trends in the perception of state youth policy in modern Russia in the last two years (as well as other areas of state policy in various spheres of public life), the most important fact is that the share of opposition-minded among young people remains at a fairly high level (about a third of respondents). The greatest political motivation for opposition is inherent in young supporters of liberalism. Socio-economic motivation is more characteristic of supporters of “left” ideologies.