Past Is Another Resource: Remembering the 70th Anniversary of the Victory Day on LiveJournal
Publisher DOI
Abstract
In our article we examine changes experienced by media and memory systems in Russia since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis. Using as an example a popular Russian blogging platform, LiveJournal, we scrutinize how the digital practices related to commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany are influenced by the growing instrumentalization of Second World War memory for media propaganda and manipulation. Using topic modeling to analyze a large set of data on Russian users’ interactions with the platform, we examine how hegemonic and alternative interpretations of the Second World War interact on LiveJournal and how their interactions are influenced by the growing antagonism between Russia and the West. Our findings suggest that LiveJournal constitutes a fractured memory system, which is characterized by uneven representation of Second World War experiences and the growing influence of pro-government actors promoting hegemonic war narratives. However, our observations also show that instrumentalization of the past in the context of the Ukraine crisis does not necessarily interfere with digital practices of Second World War commemoration with the latter remaining unaffected by the events in Ukraine.
Date Issued
2020-01-27
Publication Type
Article
Subjects
Russia
•
memory
•
digital memory
•
LiveJournal
•
Ukraine
•
war
•
propaganda
Language(s)
en
Author(s)
Lyebyedyev, Yehor | |
Kravtsov, Daniel |
Additional Credits
Journal
Nationalities Papers
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
ISSN
0090-5992
Access(Rights)
Unknown