Authors

Boris Podoroga¹;  ¹ Independent Institute of Philosophy, France

Discussion

In the paper, I will discuss themes inspired by our forthcoming article on media and ideology in contemporary Russia. Building on the three modes of ideological reproduction introduced in the article (the representational, the performative, and the engagement mode), I aim to describe the concepts of “mediacide,” “the TV ghost,” and “death-vibes” as core elements of Russian propaganda media. Highlighting the dominance of the engagement mode in Putin-era ideology—where ideology becomes a product of the medium—I will attempt to describe the violence exerted by the state on the medium, expressed through these three concepts. By “mediacide,” I refer to systematic repressive actions on the Internet (site shutdowns, various forms of blocking), aimed at transforming it into a fully controlled, centralized TV-like platform (resembling Soviet-era media). However, these actions fall short, generating a “TV ghost”: an ephemeral digital space where Z-war bloggers’ vlogs, TikToks, VK Shorts, and snippets from propaganda shows coexist, forming a loosely stitched-together conglomerate of incompatible statements. This conglomerate, much like a living dead entity, hovers on the verge of disintegration and lacks genuine ideological mobilizing power. In this presentation, I illustrate that the TV ghost produces “death-vibes,” defined as the ability of digital media to create a profound, sensory-tactile effect on recipients, resonating with the societal drive toward death (referencing Freud and Bataille). Death-vibes are associated with the normalization of the impossible, seen in propagandists’ attempts to erase the boundaries between life and death. These vibes manifest widely, from appeals to Orthodox religious discourse, asserting life’s insignificance compared to eternity, to portraying war as a fate to be passively accepted.