Authors

Tatiana Romashko¹;  ¹ University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Discussion

This paper explores the emergence of the ‘cultural front of Russia’ and its impact on Russian and Ukrainian societies. This public movement was established in November 2022 as an urgent response to the needs of the Russian state in pursuing the goals of the so-called ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. 

This initiative is interesting for two reasons. First, it aims to promote the mass mobilisation of Russians in support of the war by multiplying the Kremlin’s narratives through people’s everyday discursive practices. Second, it serves as an expert platform responsible for implementing presidential decrees on state cultural policy. This includes monitoring budget allocations and promoting cooperation between workers in various socio-cultural, educational and religious fields and the military. The context of Russia’s invasion and deliberate destruction of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in Ukraine lends urgency to the study of the Kremlin’s strategies of cultural colonialism within Russia and in the annexed regions of Ukraine.

My paper addresses this complex issue at the intersection of cultural politics, patriotic consumption and everyday nationalism and seeks to answer the following research questions. What are the practical, legislative and civic characteristics of the ‘cultural front of Russia’? And how does it attempt to influence the cultural milieu in Russia and the annexed territories of Ukraine? I approach the dynamics surrounding the construction of the ‘cultural front’ through an analysis of the recent cultural policy debates in the Russian State Duma and the rapid measures of policy enforcement after February 2022, including the promotion of the war campaign through art events and cultural production.

The paper draws on the primary and secondary sources of information, i.e., the body of cultural legislation since 2022 and the expert and political debates around it; documents related to policy implementation; visual and textual material derived from social media about pro-war cultural activities, e.g., public performances and concerts, symbolic acts and representations such as artworks, graffiti, installations, and patriotic consumption.