Memories on Demand: Narratives about 1917 in Russia’s Online Publics

Abstract

This article analyses the digital remembrance of the Russian Revolution in the year of its centenary. It examines what memory narratives about 1917 were constructed by leading Russian online media in 2017, in the absence of an overarching narrative about the event imposed by the state. The authors reveal a multiplicity of digital memories about the revolution and discuss their implications for the regime’s stability. It is argued that the flexible nature of digital remembrance does not necessarily challenge authoritarian rule and can even work in its favour by allowing one to target—and satisfy—various sections of a fragmented society.

Acknowledgement

When conducting this project, Andrei Zavadski was a researcher at the Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin.

Notes

1 ‘Na krasnoi ploshchadi otmetili godovshchinu parada 1941 goda’, Vesti, 7 November 2017, available at: https://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=2951434, accessed 29 October 2018.

2 See, ‘Revolutsiya-100: obzor yubileinykh tendentsii’, Gefter, 13 September 2017, available at: http://gefter.ru/archive/22684, accessed 29 October 2018.

3 See, ‘Revolutsiya-100: obzor yubileinykh tendentsii’, Gefter, 13 September 2017, available at: http://gefter.ru/archive/22684, accessed 29 October 2018.

4 See also Fraser (1990), Breese (2011).

5 See also Wijermars (2018a).

6 ‘Oktyabr’skaya revolutsiya 1917–2017’, VTSIOM, 10 October 2017, available at: https://wciom.ru/index.php?id=236&uid=116446, accessed 29 October 2018.

7 ‘Oktyabr’skaya revolutsiya’, Levada Centre, 5 April 2017, available at: https://www.levada.ru/2017/04/05/oktyabrskaya-revolyutsiya-2/, accessed 29 October 2018.

8 For a discussion of terminology related to 1917, see Malinova (2018).

9 According to the Julian calendar, which was used in Russia before 1918, the October Revolution started on 25 October 1917. According to the Gregorian calendar, introduced in 1918, the revolution started on 7 November 1917.

10 For a detailed analysis of the project, see Wijermars (2018b).

11 ‘Na stsene RAMT pokazhut misteriyu “Aleko” k yubileyu revolyutsii’, Lenra.ru, 2 November 2017, available at: https://lenta.ru/news/2017/11/02/aleko/, accessed 29 October 2018.

12 ‘Fil’m “Trotskii”: radi velikoy mechty vsego chelovechestva ubit’ cheloveka v sebe’, Vremya, 7 November 2017, available at: https://www.1tv.ru/news/2017-11-07/335812-film_trotskiy_radi_velikoy_mechty_vsego_chelovechestva_ubit_cheloveka_v_sebe, accessed 29 October 2018.

13 ‘Demon Revolyutsii’, Vesti, 4 November 2017, available at: https://www.vesti.ru/videos/show/vid/735308/cid/58/, accessed 29 October 2018.

14 ‘Venediktov—Putin, Putin, Lesya, Putin’, Vdud’, 13 March 2018, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0wv89CdksM&t=4805s, accessed 29 October 2018.

15 See also Tolz and Chatterje-Doody (2018).

16 See also Tolz and Chatterje-Doody (2018).

17 For more on how the official memory politics is translated by Russian television channels into historical entertainment, see Wijermars (2018a).

18 See also Rutten et al. (2013).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft—DFG) under an Emmy Noether grant.

Notes on contributors

Anna Litvinenko

Anna Litvinenko, Researcher, Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, Garystrasse 55, 14195 Berlin, Germany. Email: [email protected]

Andrei Zavadski

Andrei Zavadski, Researcher, Editor, The Garage Journal: Studies in Art, Museums & Culture, Tucholskystrasse 26, 10117 Berlin, Germany. Email: [email protected]