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The Cultural Pragmatics of an Event: the Politicization of Local Activism in Russia

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Oleg Zhuravlev
Oleg Zhuravlev
Oleg Zhuravlev
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Natalia Savelyeva
Natalia Savelyeva
Natalia Savelyeva
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Svetlana Erpyleva
Svetlana Erpyleva
Svetlana Erpyleva
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Abstract

The paper analyzes the politicization of local activism in Russia caused by the 2011–12 protest movement “For Fair Elections”. The authors propose the theoretical model of an eventful social change at a micro level integrating different approaches such as pragmatic sociology, cultural sociology, eventful approach, and social movement studies. They argue that before the protests, Russian local activism was apolitical as it was based on the ethical opposition between (good) “real deeds” and (bad) “politics”, as well as on the anti-ideological belief in the authenticity of “self-evident” facts. The politicization of a-political activism was stimulated by the “eventful protests” of 2011–2012 and was not a break with a-politicism, but new arrangements of “self-evident” facts and ideological campaigning, of oppositional “politics” and getting real things done.
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The Cultural Pragmatics of an Event: the Politicization
of Local Activism in Russia
Oleg Zhuravlev
1
&Natalia Savelyeva
1
&Svetlana Erpyleva
1
#Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract
The paper analyzes the politicization of local activism in Russia caused by the 2011–12 protest
movement BFor Fair Elections^. The authors propose the theoretical model of an eventful
social change at a micro level integrating different approaches such as pragmatic sociology,
cultural sociology, eventful approach, and social movement studies. They argue that before the
protests, Russian local activism was apolitical as it was based on the ethical opposition
between (good) Breal deeds^and (bad) Bpolitics^, as well as on the anti-ideological belief in
the authenticity of Bself-evident^facts. The politicization of a-political activism was stimulated
by the Beventful protests^of 2011–2012 and was not a break with a-politicism, but new
arrangements of Bself-evident^facts and ideological campaigning, of oppositional Bpolitics^
and getting real things done.
Keywords Eventful protest .Pragmatic sociology.Local activism .Depoliticization .
Politicization
Introduction
Outcomes of disruptive political events such as uprisings and mass rallies are often Bmeasured^
by the Bvariable^of regime change. What are other possible outcomes that may not be as evident
as regime change but are still crucial for politics in general? Indeed, even such a Bradical^
outcome as regime change might not lead to structural transformations in the state, society, and
International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-019-9321-6
*Oleg Zhuravlev
olegzhur@yandex.ru
Natalia Savelyeva
natasha-saveleva@yandex.ru
Svetlana Erpyleva
yerpylovas@gmail.com
1
School of Advanced Studies, and Public Sociology Laboratory, University of Tyumen, Tyumen,
Russia
Published online: 12 June 2019
(2020) 33:163–180
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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