IRKUTSK YOUTH: ELECTORAL BEHAVIOR THROUGH THE PRISM OF POLITICAL VALUES

The article examines the political values of Irkutsk youth and analyzes their impact on electoral behavior. The object of the study was the studying youth living in the territory of the city of Irkutsk. The focus of the study is a set of attitudes and values that influence the electoral preferences of the studying youth. The chronological framework of the study is 2021-2023. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that a low proportion of young people in Russia attend polling stations, and Irkutsk Oblast is a traditional anti-leader in voter turnout at all levels. Thus, in the elections of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the 8th convocation in 2021, the percentage of voters who reached the polling stations was only 36.59%, which was the lowest result in the country. In the elections of deputies of the Legislative Assembly of Irkutsk Oblast of the 4th convocation, the turnout was only 24.21%. Accordingly, the share of young people voting became low. The answer to the question of why this is happening lies in the value orientations of young people. After all, it is values that in many ways motivate people to act, especially politically. To obtain the data, a questionnaire survey was conducted among pupils of Irkutsk schools (grades 9-11) and university students. The number of respondents was 114 people (28 male pupils, 16 male students, 29 female pupils, 47 female students). According to the results of the survey, the main value groups among Irkutsk youth were identified. Thus, about 15% of students and 30% of pupils are " loyalists", about 25% are "hawks" (proponetns of greater radicalization), about 30% are representatives of "liberal" views and about 30% are " neutral-encouraging". About 15% of females and 30% of males turned out to be ready for political action, and students have a higher association between social activity of a citizen and participation in political actions than pupils. At the same time, the need for activism is generally present in more than half of the respondents in almost all groups. The electoral behavior of the above-mentioned youth groups clearly proceeds from their common value assumptions. Keywords: youth, values, electoral behavior