Russia

175 articles tagged with russia were found.

Processing of the Russian war against Ukraine in the lyrics of Ukrainian rappers in Ukraine, Germany, and Russia

This article is a linguistic exploration of the lyrics and selected social media posts of nine contemporary rappers from Ukraine, Russia, and Germany, all of whom are of Ukrainian descent. The selection of these artists is based not only on their ethnic background but also on their considerable popularity and cultural influence within their respective countries. The primary objective of this study is to examine the pragmatic aspects of their lyrics and linguistic behavior, with particular attention to potential instances of language shift or code-switching, which can be socio-politically motivated. Additionally, the article explores the role these artists play in the sociopolitical landscape shaped by Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. Given that rap has emerged as one of the most dynamic genres in global mainstream music, it is imperative to analyze the messages conveyed in its lyrics, as they now reach a significantly broader audience compared to the genre’s early decades (1970s–1990s). Many of these musicians have attained the status of opinion leaders, amplifying their sociopolitical influence. Within the broader context of East Slavic linguistic dynamics, the choice of language – regardless of its pragmatic function – can itself serve as a potent political statement.

By Aleksej Tikhonov October 23, 2025

Remixing nationalism. Gender and sexuality in Russian popular music and its reception on TikTok and Instagram

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022 has exacerbated Russian nationalism, as reflected in popular music and its reception on digital media. This article explores the role of gender and sexuality in formulating and negotiating ideas about the Russian nation since the start of the full-scale invasion, focusing on the circulation and reception of the songs and music videos by the Russian singers Shaman and Tatiana Kurtukova. Both performers occupy a significant place within a broader landscape of Russian popular music and are popular on social media platforms, where users generate content that features their songs. The analysis focuses on the ways (dis)identifications with Russianness in and through popular music are performed and highlights popular music’s symbolic capacity to naturalize normative ideas about gender and sexuality as well as the war in Ukraine.

By Kirill Polkov October 23, 2025

Performing homeland and the de-/legitimation of war. A multimodal analysis of music videos

How is war legitimated and delegitimated in music videos? We seek to answer this question using the example of depictions of Russia as a homeland in contemporary music videos. Advancing a multimodal, sound-oriented method to analyze music videos, we engage with the interplay of sound, moving images, and lyrics. How is homeland performed in music videos? Analyzing music videos and performances by Sobor (Ukrainian pro-separatist), Shaman (Russian), and Zemfira (in exile), we find that violence remains hidden in pro-war performances, while emphasizing a Russian-Soviet way of life. Depictions of traditional food and binary gender roles play a central role in pro-war, imperialnationalist renderings of homeland while performances mixing Russian food with hand grenades and questioning traditional femininity subvert such romanticization.

By Anna Schwenck and Anastasia Bondarenko October 23, 2025

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