LAUSR

ABSTRACT The article presents the results of the analysis of online activities in Vkontakte groups for followers of Alexei Navalny, the opposition politician. Online activities were measured at times of elections in all Russian regions: the State Duma of the Russian Federation elections of 18 September 2016, and the presidential elections of 18 March 2018. An Online Activity Index was introduced to measure online activities of the opposition supporters. We determined that online activities of opposition supporters are mostly concentrated in the largest economic hubs of the Russian Federation like Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar Kray, etc. Online activities of Navalny’s supporters tend to change significantly. In 2016 there was a visible 24 decline of online activities after the State Duma elections (as compared to their activity prior to the elections), however, in 2018 we have seen the dramatic 268 growth of activity among Navalny’s supporters after the presidential elections.