This article analyzes the specific features of public opinion formation in countries undergoing socio-political transformation processes. During periods of transformation, old institutions and values lose their influence, while new ones have not yet been fully established. It is precisely this transitional stage that gives public opinion such characteristics as instability, polarization, and distrust. The study is based on sociological surveys, focus groups, and expert interviews conducted between 2022 and 2025 in six regions of Uzbekistan (Tashkent city, Tashkent, Samarkand, Fergana, Kashkadarya, and Karakalpakstan). The number of respondents amounted to 1,850 people, with quota sampling based on region, age, and gender. The article identifies five key characteristics typical of the transformational period: polarization of opinions, decline in institutional trust, weakening of the ability to critically evaluate information, increasing inclination toward forms of mass participation, and instability in the dynamics of political expectations. The findings of the study are of practical significance for institutions managing political processes and specialists in public relations.

socio-political transformation, public opinion, transitional period, reforms, sociological survey, distrust.

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