Russia

172 articles tagged with russia were found.

Russian internet news sites, 2008–2018. RHETORIC IN TEXT AND INFORMED AUDIENCES

The short-lived apex of journalistic freedom that took place after Perestroika in the late 1980s and early 1990s has been followed by setbacks and stagnation of press freedom, in particular since Putin’s accession to power in 2000. Despite this, qualitative text analysis of commentary articles in some of the most important current Russian news sites strongly indicates that during 2008–2018, readers of news sites were increasingly addressed as active and knowledgeable citizens. Four case studies are examined to cast light on the period, using the following methods: focusing on argumentation analysis, exploring whether arguments are valid, and the means of persuasionused. The findings imply that a number of Russian Internet outlets have strengthened their role as advocates of the Fourth Estate. The results further indicate a sharp distinction between news sites utilizing traditional Western journalistic devices, and those employing a traditional Russian/Soviet journalistic approach. Thus, the social roles of the audiences were to a certain extent reinforced during the period investigated, 2008–2018.

By Rutger von Seth September 23, 2025

Theme: Universities in times of crisis and transformation POLITICAL MATERIALITIES OF STATUS-MAKING AND UNMAKING UNIVERSITIES IN THE IMPERIAL CITYSCAPE OF ST. PETERSBURG

This article argues for the relevance of new materialist theories and onto-epistemologies in understanding the workings of political status. The issue of political status is interrogated at the confluence of the university’s status, the status of the Russian state through references to its “glorious” and “rich” history, and the materialities of the imperial cityscape of St. Petersburg. More specifically, I analyze how the spatio-temporal position of universities within the imperial cityscape of St. Petersburg plays out as a status-enhancing or undermining mechanism. The analysis in this article traverses three sites: St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture, and European University in St. Petersburg. The universities appear to be embedded within the imperial cityscape of St. Petersburg, which speaks to both the universities’ status and, more importantly, the idea of the state that lives in and through them, through the effects of beauty, glory, and rich history. However, while material durability allows the past to be actualized in the present, materialities are also subject to decay over time, leading to physical processes of deterioration and downgrading. This decay acts as a status undermining mechanism.

By Iuliia Gataulina April 16, 2025

DEPOLITICIZATION OF ART A STRATEGY FOR NORMALIZATION OF THE CURRENT REGIME IN RUSSIA 2022–2024

The article examines the deliberate process of depoliticizing contemporary art in Russia. The repressive laws introduced also target art, especially certain themes, and there is heightened censorship: furthermore, law enforcement exerts direct pressure on individual art institutions and artists. Simultaneously, the state is implementing large-scale programs to support (state-approved) contemporary art: constructing new museums, organizing street art competitions, and supporting the art market. At times, the authorities employ a form of “agenda hijacking,” adopting globally relevant themes in the art world, such as decolonization. For the average citizen, an illusion of a vibrant contemporary art scene is created. Meanwhile, over the two years of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the ideological component of art, built on propaganda or stylistic canons, has not become central.

Essay by Olga Alter April 16, 2025

War as a trigger THE AGGRAVATION OF INTER-ORTHODOX RELATIONS IN UKRAINE AND THE WORLD

In this article the authors seek to analyze the difficult situation in which Orthodoxy finds itself in Ukraine. It shows that as a result of the Russian Federation’s military attack on sovereign Ukraine, inter-Orthodox relations, already complicated, have been further challenged. The authors investigate the factors that aggravate inter-Orthodox relations, their influence on world Orthodoxy, the reaction of Ukrainian citizens to confrontation in the religious sphere, and possible ways of overcoming inter- Orthodox confrontation.

Essay by Hanna Kulahina-Stadnichenko and Liudmyla Fylypovych December 10, 2024

TIKTOK and TELEGRAM as platforms for political mobilization in Belarus and Russia

Over the past decade, social networking platforms have become an important communication channel for protesters in autocratic countries. In August 2020 and January 2021, the messaging application Telegram and social media platform Tik-Tok became platforms for protest mobilization and coordination in Belarus and Russia respectively. This article applies previous research within social movements and democratization studies about the use of Facebook and Twitter to instigate and galvanize protests in autocratic countries in order to explore how protest mobilization on newly politicized platforms such as Telegram and TikTok is manifested. For this purpose, we conducted a qualitative content analysis of 1,128 protest-related publications (posts) on Telegram’s channel NextaLive and 100 videos on TikTok. The conclusion provides an extended framework for analyzing political mobilization online and argues that social networking platforms can themselves be considered spaces that are commensurate with those of offline protest and not merely tools to stimulate democratic participation.

By Alesia Rudnik and Malin Rönnblom December 10, 2024

“Just give Europe to Russia …” Considerations on the relations between “East” and “West” in the 1990s

The formula “end of the Cold War” conveyed an erroneous idea. For centuries the relations between “East” and “West” were characterized by antagonism. In the 1990s determined attempts were undertaken to overcome the polarity. Western Europe and the US responded favorably to the desire of Central/Eastern Europe and of Russia to integrate themselves into Western institutions and organisms defined by democracy and market economy. However, the force of existing mental realities — such as the fear of Russia in Central/European states or Russia`s clinging to its imperialist past and failure to handle its economy and finances well – proved to be stronger than the idealistic intentions formed in 1989–90 on both sides of the divide. Keywords: End of Cold War, “East and West”, 1990s.

Essay by Tilo Schabert September 18, 2024

Moral dilemmas Russian researchers between Scylla and Charybdis

This publication shares with the reader autobiographical reflections of five scholars who still live and work in different regions of Russia. These social scientists have not left Russia for various reasons, which they themselves explain in their reflections. After having met at an informal meeting in early 2024, they have decided to voice their concerns about their troubled professional ethos caused by censorship, ideological pressure and repressive legislature. These concerns they conceptualize as moral dilemmas challenging their professional activities. We have decided to publish these texts and to preserve their voices in order to let them tell their own stories to the reader. However, for the sake of security, all authors have decided to be pseudonymized

By Ekaterina Kalinina et al September 18, 2024

Valentina Izmirlieva:“The Church has promoted specific ‘martial’ strategies of scriptural exegesis to justify military aggression”

The projection of imperial power through overtly religious pageantry, symbols and narratives has been a key element of Russia’s identity politics under Putin, informing the Kremlin’s aggressive international policies, but also shaping the domestic perceptions of Russia’s global role.  In a conversation with Irina Sandomirskaja, Valentina Izmirlieva explores the utility of the Russian Orthodox Church in this process, and the significant transformations within the Orthodox sphere that facilitate the radical militarization of Russian society. She also discusses the role and future of multidisciplinary area studies as such, and in particular Slavic Studies.

By Irina Sandomirskaja September 18, 2024

Prigozhin’s patriot media group just like a nesting doll

Alongside the private military company Wagner and his notorious Internet Research Agency (IRA), Yevgeny Prigozhin was associated with the Patriot Media Group (PMG) which amplified state narratives through its webpages and was registered by Roskomnadzor, the federal agency for supervision of Russian media. The Patriot Media Group was shut down after the mutiny, June 23, 2023, while most of its channels were removed or remain inactive currently. The essay provides a brief account of the Patriot Media Group’s structures, partnerships, and campaigns based on digital ethnographic observations of their web channels. The news coverage from predominantly Russian language news outlets sheds light on how the Group operated and what happened after Prigozhin’s mutiny. The essay concludes with some directions for future research on a complex and murky media production facility.

Essay by Alexandra Brankova April 23, 2024

The epidemic of broken compasses Normalization of violence and Soviet propaganda in today’s Russia

With skillfully designed propaganda that presents the Soviet past in rosy colors only, little is remembered about the Gulag, repressions, censorship, and poverty. “People feel nostalgia for the taste of Soviet sausage,” a critical acquaintance of mine born in the Belarusian Soviet Republic commented. “But no-one remembers that they ate it only once a month”.

By Olga Bubich April 23, 2024