Authors

Alexandra Brankova¹;  ¹ Uppsala University, IRES, Sweden

Discussion

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has marked a period of increased nationalist mobilisation. Russian nationalist organisations are active in digital spaces which are utilised for both information and narrative dissemination but also recruitment for the frontlines. The paper’s aim is two-fold. Firstly, it assesses how Russian national identity discourses have changed pre- and during the 2022 war. Secondly, it explores digital media practices and the mediatisation of war. Three nationalist organisations are selected as case studies: Tsargrad Society and TV, Izborsky Club, and the Russian Imperial Movement. A combination of critical discourse analysis (discourse-historic approach) and digital ethnography is applied for the data analysis. The invasion and the war effort have further emphasised the establishment of the Russian national self inclusive of Ukraine and Belarus in terms of territorial and historical imaginaries as well as great power discursive themes. More aggressive crisis topoi are communicated for the juxtaposition between Russia, NATO, and Europe in terms of value systems, international competition, and even survival. In addition, the characteristics of new media ecologies provide further opportunities for nationalist organisations to communicate their symbolic representations of the nation and engage with audiences. While Izborsky Club is more supportive of the regime, the Russian Imperial Movement displays more critical stands toward its war strategies.