Environmental culture and greening of everyday life among youth in the Republic of Tatarstan

BACKGROUND: The need for a detailed examination of young people’s environmental awareness and behavior—as well as identification of the characteristics of these components of environmental culture—is supported by previous empirical research. Youth in the Republic of Tatarstan demonstrate a high level of environmental engagement: 74% report interest in environmental issues, 93% believe they can personally contribute to environmental protection, and 72% report participating in environmental initiatives.

AIM: The study aimed to examine the nature and content of environmental culture components among young people (awareness and behavior), as well as their experience of environmental integration into everyday life in modern society (using the Republic of Tatarstan as example).

METHODS: To collect social data, both quantitative (a mass online survey of young people aged 16–35 residing in the Republic of Tatarstan, n=1349, 2023) and qualitative (focus group discussions with “student” and “working” youth (n=6, 2023–2024) methods were employed. The selection of respondents for the mass online survey was carried out with consideration of gender, age, and type of settlement. Focus group participants were selected using purposive sampling.

RESULTS: The study made it possible to gather young people’s opinions regarding their interest in environmental issues, their level of participation in environmental initiatives, and their adoption of environmentally conscious practices. Discussion of young people’s experiences of environmental integration into their daily lives made it possible to identify existing institutional and non-institutional barriers to pursuing an eco-friendly lifestyle.

CONCLUSION: The study of environmental culture components among youth in the Republic of Tatarstan showed that environmental situation, along with family values, rank highly among life priorities. The level of interest in environmental issues and involvement in ecological initiatives is sufficient to enable environmentally justified actions toward the environment, carried out with an awareness of their consequences. The variables are influenced by social and demographic characteristics (age, gender, type of residence), the type of the respondent’s activity, and prior exposure to the subject of Ecology.