Communicative Tools of the New Russian Civil "Activism"

The paper is devoted to the study of tools of new civil activism in Russia. The characteristic features of civil society in Russia are investigated, the features of its development in the conditions of politicization of the public sphere are noted. Unformalized grassroots initiatives and movements are analyzed, the growth of both their number and the number of non-profit organizations (NGOs) of different orientation after the public protest rise of the period 2011-2012 is noted. There is an outstanding role of the Internet in the formation of new civic activists, for example, it makes participation in social movements independent of the location of the citizen, provides rapid and reliable dissemination of information, serves to mobilize protest moods, provides anonymity. The paper highlights the most popular electronic tools of activism, such as the creation and signing of online petitions, participation in online communities, whose activities are aimed at solving local issues. The author reveals the development of urban activism, new civil and protest practices, including in the Internet space. In the course of the work confirmed the hypothesis of efficiency of interaction of the traditional tools of activism – for example, the collection of signatures, mass gatherings and actions, strikes with the new tools of online activism.