Digital Activism in Russia: The Evolution and Forms of Online Participation in an Authoritarian State

Lonkila, Markku; Shpakovskaya, Larisa; Torchinsky, Philip

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-42855-6_8

Cited by 12 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…• цель действий -оказание влияния / давления на власть (Ермолаева и др., 2020;Teocharis, 2015), кооперация с другими гражданами и структурами гражданского общества (Никовская, 2017) или повышение осведомленности (Lonkila et al, 2021);…”

Section: материалы и методыunclassified

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2022

ESC / ЭиСП

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Рецензируемый научно-практический журнал, охватывающий вопросы анализа и прогноза изменений в экономике и социальной сфере различных стран и регионов, локальных территорий.Основная цель издания журнала -предоставление широким слоям мировой научной общественности и практическим работникам возможности публиковать результаты изысканий в сфере исследования социально-экономических процессов, знакомиться с различными точками зрения на актуальные проблемы развития экономики и социума, принимать участие в дискуссиях по обсуждаемым темам. В числе основных тем -стратегии развития территорий, региональная и отраслевая экономика, социальное развитие, вопросы формирования доходов бюджетов и рационализации расходов, инновационная экономика, вопросы экономической теории.

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Section: материалы и методыunclassified

“…• действия реализуются в ходе коммуникативного взаимодействия с другими гражданами и социальными институтами (Lonkila et al, 2021);…”

Section: материалы и методыunclassified

Untitled

2022

ESC / ЭиСП

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“…The Russian opposition agreed to use the global social media platform Facebook to avoid monitoring by the state officials, although the local one, Vkontakte, was more popular at that moment in Russia. Similarly, Lonkila, Shpakovskaya, & Torchinsky (2021) have demonstrated that besides organized oppositional activism on the Russian Internet (RuNet), "non-contentious" online activism, which is related to everyday issues, such as environmental topics or LGBT rights, take place. Although these issues are not directly connected to politics, they "may become politicized when people start to view them as examples of bad governance" (Lonkila et.…”

Section: Nation-related Belonging In the Context Of Deep Mediatizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imagining the desirable homeland: Nation-related belonging and social media use of young Kazakhstani Russians

Zhir-Lebed¹

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Recent events, such as the Ukrainian crisis, political protests in Belarus, and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s escalation, have clearly demonstrated that the so-called ‘national question’ has remained an acute issue in the post-Soviet space. Being surrounded by Russia’s neo-imperial calls, but also by the dominating titular culture in the country of their current residence, ethnic Russians, and their national belonging arouse the interest of academia. Simultaneously, the tremendous expansion of information and communication technologies (ICTs), as well as the popularity of social media in the ex-Soviet republics, opens new opportunities for the conception of a national image, especially for young people. Hence, the studying of ethnic and civic belonging in the post-Soviet context requires an additional technological viewpoint. While Cyberspace in Kazakhstan remains state-controlled, Russia employs social media to unite its compatriots around the Russian national idea. However, the Internet may also support alternative identity constructions, grassroots movements, and the search for new national belongingness among ethnic minorities. How do young Kazakhstani Russians define their national belonging in the light of their social media usage? Which homeland do they imagine, and which role does Instagram play in this process? To answer these questions, I conducted explorative research, which was based upon a qualitative content analysis of 22 semi-structured interviews with young Kazakhstani Russians and a quantitative content analysis of local Instagram accounts. Interviewing ethnic Russians from big Kazakhstani cities demonstrated that these young people avoid formal national categories and creatively combine their multiple nation-related identities and belongings. Although social media content from Russia is present in their social media feeds, Ka-zakhstani Russians did not express any particular attachment to their historical “homeland.” Instead, they defined themselves as Kazakhstanis and advocated for ethnocultural pluralism and innovation inside and beyond Kazakhstan’s national borders. Their openness towards global cooperation is also reflected in their use of social media. At the same time, a close connection to a local space was widely relevant among Kazakhstani Russians. Posting Instagram stories from their everyday life, communicating with local friends, and consuming local news and event announcements, immersed young Kazakhstani Russians into the local city-related environment. Among the whole geographical and thematic content variety, following one or another urban account was an essential part of Kazakh-stani Russians’ social media use. As the Instagram analysis proved, textual and visual content on city-related accounts has blurred the boundaries between different discursive paradigms of national identity existing in Kazakhstan and presented the country in a positive light. In addition to other usage patterns, this provides an opportunity for these young people to construct a particular image of Kazakhstan, which helps them to find their social identity gratification and maintain positive self-esteem. As a result, their sense of belonging to Kazakhstan grows, allowing them to manage their multiple nation-related memberships while creating new categories beyond any formal definitions.

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“…Inasmuch as the 2017-2018 protests were seen as youth-dominated, they were also perceived to have largely originated on the internet-more specifically, on social network sites (hereafter: SNS) (Erpyleva 2020;A. Arkhipova et al 2018;Gabdulhakov 2020;Shomova 2022;Wijermars 2021;Lonkila, Shpakovskaya, and Torchinsky 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Though it must be noted that, for Russia, this is nothing new-the 2011-2013 protests (known colloquially as the Bolotnaya Protest after the Bolotnaya Square where much of the protesting took place) had also been coordinated and promoted largely through SNS (Vendil Pallin 2017;Wijermars 2021;Asmolov and Kolozaridi 2017;Lonkila, Shpakovskaya, and Torchinsky 2021;Enikolopov, Makarin, and Petrova 2020a;Zherebtsov and Goussev 2021;Toepfl 2018). This is scarcely a surprising circumstance if we consider that the vast majority of print and TV media have long been seized by the Russian state, with the implication that their materials must strictly follow the approved government line (Becker 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Social Network Sites on Youth Political Engagement in Russia

Salojin¹

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This thesis argues that social network sites (SNS) do not just reflect already existing patterns of offline political engagement among youth networks, but also transform and augment these patterns, creating patterns that are wholly unique to youth networks operating through SNS. Political socialization through SNS can partly explain the shift in citizenship norms seen among Russian youth, in turn motivating youth toward networked activism aimed at issues of a highly localized and personalized nature.Russian state demobilization efforts have forced opposition networks to reshape and restructure their political engagement so that the political acts are declaratively "apolitical" or so those political acts that may have taken place "in real life" can only be observed online, thereby decreasing likelihood of persecution. Although a direct causal link between SNS usage and anti-regime youth alternative political engagement cannot be drawn, this type of political engagement in Russia is only possible thanks to SNS. "Likes, retweets, and comments confirm that this is not just some narcissism, but that someone is really watching this. And if on another planet only a select few can feel as though they're a star, ours gives this feeling to everyone. It turned out to be easier for us to create a new world, than to conquer television."-Elena Bazina 1 April 2014"Today, a lulling Instagram has become our cradle, and an updated Facebook feed has become our alarm clock."-Elizaveta Yakovets

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Digital Activism in Russia: The Evolution and Forms of Online Participation in an Authoritarian State

Cited by 12 publications

References 17 publications

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Imagining the desirable homeland: Nation-related belonging and social media use of young Kazakhstani Russians

The Impact of Social Network Sites on Youth Political Engagement in Russia

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