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How Russian propaganda infiltrated Russia's pop culture scene on the eve of the presidential elections

Authors:
  • Global Governance Institute

Abstract

On March 15, another presidential election will be held in Russia. The appropriateness of such "elections" without intrigue raises questions even among the most ardent Z-patriots. However, despite this, the Kremlin continues to invest resources in the "voting" advertising campaign, which, in particular, is planned to be held also in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, veiledly campaigning for one candidate. Russian authorities involved several Russian celebrities in achieving this goal, finally drawing a clear line between "patriots" and "traitors". In this analysis, we retrospectively discuss how the election process was intertwined with Russian pop culture in the past years, under what conditions it was done so, exactly which stars agreed to be part of the Russian propaganda machine, which cultural products contain direct and subtle propaganda, and with the help of which tactics the key propaganda messages can be revealed.
How Russian propaganda infiltrated Russias pop culture scene
on the eve of the presidential elections
Article
4/30/24, 5:03 PM
How Russian propaganda infiltrated Russia’s pop culture scene on the eve of the presidential elections :: Detector Media
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1/14
19 March 2024
5088
Artur Koldomasov
Detector Media analyst
Українською читайте тут.
On March 15, another presidential
election will be held in Russia. The
appropriateness of such "elections"
without intrigue raises questions even
among the most ardent Z-patriots.
However, despite this, the Kremlin
continues to invest resources in the
"voting" advertising campaign, which,
in particular, is planned to be held also
in the temporarily occupied territories
of Ukraine, veiledly campaigning for
one candidate. Russian authorities
involved several Russian celebrities in
achieving this goal, finally drawing a
clear line between "patriots" and
"traitors". In this analysis, we
retrospectively discuss how the
election process was intertwined with
Russian pop culture in the past years,
under what conditions it was done so,
exactly which stars agreed to be part
of the Russian propaganda machine,
which cultural products contain direct
and subtle propaganda, and with the
help of which tactics the key
propaganda messages can be
revealed.
4/30/24, 5:03 PM
How Russian propaganda infiltrated Russia’s pop culture scene on the eve of the presidential elections :: Detector Media
https://en.detector.media/post/how-russian-propaganda-infiltrated-russias-pop-culture-scene-on-the-eve-of-the-presidential-elections
2/14
The eternal question: vote or lose
This was the slogan used by the Central
Election Commission of the Russian
Federation for voting in the 1996
presidential elections. Even then, thanks
to administrative resources, they actively,
but veiledly, campaigned for the then still
active but very unpopular president Boris
Yeltsin. Political technologists had an
almost unrealistic task, according to his
then political technologists, to re-elect
Yeltsin, and this was impossible without a
high turnout of young people. Therefore,
the campaign organizer at the time,
Sergey Lisovsky, decided to take the
election process into the country’s pop
culture scene. For this, Russia’s then-
authorities used the experience of Bill
Clinton's victorious 1992 election
campaign with the slogan Choose or
Lose.
These elections became a starting point
in the close union of "elections" in Russia
and its "pop scene". In 1996, Russins
created avant-garde video clips for
campaigning, in which they promoted the
idea that the absence of people in the
elections would mean either a return to
the USSR, the introduction of censorship,
or other horrors of the ineffectiveness of
democratic expression of will, which looks
quite ironic for modern Russia. Such
allusions are not accidental since the
then-main opponent of Yeltsin in those
elections was the head of the Russian
Communists, Gennady Zyuganov. As part
of this election campaign, Russian
authorities organized a concert tour
across the country with the participation
4/30/24, 5:03 PM
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3/14
of such performers and bands as Tetyana
Ovsienko, Alla Pugacheva, Lev
Leshchenko, Mikhail Boyarskyi, Lada
Dance, "Alisa", "Va-Bank", "Chaif", and
others. The performer Sergey Minaev
even recorded a whole music album with
songs like "Boris, fight!". A separate TV
channel, Muz-TV, was created to
broadcast these concerts and music
videos, which still operate in Russia. The
strategy worked —Yeltsin was re-elected.
After these events, the Russian pop
culture scene was again used for the
elections in 2008, when several Russian
celebrities (about sixty thousand people),
led by Nikita Mikhalkov, signed an appeal
in support of the then-main candidate
Dmitry Medvedev. Subsequently, in 2012,
already for Putin's re-election, a separate
"pop-stars force" (Star Troopers) was
created, which consisted of the proxies of
the political candidates. These included
Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, actress Chulpan
Khamatova, chanson player Sergey
Trofimov, actor Oleg Tabakov, folk singer
Nadezhda Babkina, and figure skater
Tatiana Navka.
In 2018, the Russian regime created the
so-called "Putin's Team" specifically for
the elections. It included such artists as
singer Nyusha, comedian Mikhail
Galustyan, gymnast Elena Isinbayeva,
singer Nikolay Rastorguev, singer Polina
Gagarina, figure skater Yevgeny
Plushenko, singer Nikolay Baskov, and
others. During those elections, the pop
scene began to be "incorporated" into the
presidential elections in Russia once
again. In particular, a video of the local
4/30/24, 5:03 PM
How Russian propaganda infiltrated Russia’s pop culture scene on the eve of the presidential elections :: Detector Media
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4/14
Central Election Commission (CEC), with
the participation of pro-government actor
Sergey Burunov, about the "horrors" that
will come if one doesn't come to the
elections went viral. The clip mentioned
the "threat" of forced mobilization and
"gays on remand". TV channels from
Gazprom Media Group, STS, and TNT
broadcasted other videos with the
participation of the stars of their series
and entertainment programs, in which
they also campaigned to vote. Even
bloggers were involved. At that time, the
famous rapper Liszka recorded the track
"Lizzka for President", where she
campaigned to vote for Putin. Unobtrusive
advertising of one candidate against
another is a characteristic feature of these
campaign events both then and now.
Immediately after the election results
were announced, a "concert rally" was
held in Luzhniki, the largest stadium in the
country, where "Star Troopers" performed.
Then, the crowd first heard the song
"Vladimir Putin is a good man!" by one of
the Russian kids.
In this context, it is also possible to
mention the campaign to vote for
amendments to the Russian Constitution
in 2020. At that time, the CEC and pro-
government political technologists, in
addition to videos about the "risk" of
adopting orphans by gays, confusion with
passport changes, and the open
promotion of alcoholism and sexism,
broadcast videos with such celebrities as
actor Georgy Dronov, Andrey Rozhkov,
Sergey Bezrukov, Ivan Okhlobystin, and TV
presenter Elena Letucha. In addition, there
was another attempt to create viral
4/30/24, 5:03 PM
How Russian propaganda infiltrated Russia’s pop culture scene on the eve of the presidential elections :: Detector Media
https://en.detector.media/post/how-russian-propaganda-infiltrated-russias-pop-culture-scene-on-the-eve-of-the-presidential-elections
5/14
content for young people with the
introduction of the rapper Pasha Technik
and his colleagues Jaro and Hanz, a
collaboration called "Historical Whore". In
particular, the text contains such
examples of the richness of the Russian
language and culture as "to change so to
change", "girls should be banned from
wearing swimming trunks in the
swimming pool", and "the law on brain
rape should be written into the
Constitution before it's too late." The
performer himself admitted at the time
that it was produced with state funds. For
2024, Kremlin political technologists have
also prepared to use Russia’s pop scene
in elections, especially in the temporarily
occupied territories of Ukraine.
"Naked party" as a pre-election
technology
In recent years, one can observe a split
between Russian celebrities regarding the
topic of war. Among them were active Z-
patriots, who believed that all the
resources of the "cultural front" should be
redirected to help the Russian troops
while giving up fun, laughter, and dancing.
For example, the propagandist Shaman
did not just politicize his creativity (in his
songs, he raised topics "beneficial" to the
authorities), but, even more, directly
engaged in politics: he became Putin's
confidant in these elections. Some
expressed open support for the so-called
"special military operation" (SMO) but had
a different creative approach, keeping
joyful songs in their repertoire or not
touching on acute social themes in their
work. Some remained silent all this time
4/30/24, 5:03 PM
How Russian propaganda infiltrated Russia’s pop culture scene on the eve of the presidential elections :: Detector Media
https://en.detector.media/post/how-russian-propaganda-infiltrated-russias-pop-culture-scene-on-the-eve-of-the-presidential-elections
6/14
and earned money at concerts in Russia,
repeating the mantra about "art outside of
politics." However, some performers
openly opposed the "special military
operation". Being in the latter category
meant that such individuals' appearances
in the federal information space were
effectively ceased. But it seemed unfair to
the former category [supporters of the
war] that the state continued to take no
action against those who opted out [of
supporting war]. Among those pop stars
who initially spoke out against SMO, some
failed to become applicable outside this
particular information environment, so
they looked for ways to "start with a clean
slate" and agree to the terms of the
authorities. A clear example is the Russian
band "Komsomolsk", which initially spoke
out against the war and, after the
cancelations of their concerts, declared
that it had "made its choice" and
performed in the temporarily occupied
Melitopol. This example illustrates how
the authorities punished the lack of an
active, loyal position and how this allowed
them to use show business as part of the
election campaign.
Such an occasion was the "naked party"
held in Moscow in December 2023 with
an almost naked dress code. According to
primary sources, it was organized by
blogger Nastya Ivleeva, but as per the Z-
patriots, in reality, it was arranged by
structures related to the MTS mobile
operator, which allegedly wanted to
promote a new video platform. It was
attended by celebrities such as Lolita,
rapper Vacio, Filip Kirkorov, Anna Asti,
Ksenia Sobchak, and others. In addition,
4/30/24, 5:03 PM
How Russian propaganda infiltrated Russia’s pop culture scene on the eve of the presidential elections :: Detector Media
https://en.detector.media/post/how-russian-propaganda-infiltrated-russias-pop-culture-scene-on-the-eve-of-the-presidential-elections
7/14
persons close to the Russian government
were also invited, such as the vice
president of MTS and high-ranking
officials from VK and Yandex companies.
According to the party’s concept, the
event was private. Sources have reported
that even the employees of the Mutabor
club, where the party was held, had their
phones and cameras taken away.
However, unexpectedly, for the organizers,
many journalists came to the event.
After candid photos and videos from the
event became public, complaints from the
"concerned citizens", including veterans
and film director Nikita Mikhalkov, reached
the Presidential Administration. After that,
the concerts of the performers mentioned
above began to be canceled, their
performances were cut from the New
Year's Eve concerts, and some projects
with their participation were urgently
edited. Vacio, in particular, was arrested
for "propaganda of homosexuality" due to
a costume in the form of a ... sock on the
genital organ. He referred to the decision
of the Supreme Court of Russia, which
shortly before these events recognized
the LGBTQ+ movement as "extremist",
and the participants of the event were
added to the list of performers banned by
the authorities. In Kirkorov's case, even
though he called for "rallying for Putin" as
early as mid-2023, he continued to fly to
the United States for Madonna concerts
and the Grammy Awards, which did not
align with the government's narrative.
Video messages with excuses that he
"entered the wrong door" didn't help him
eliminate the negative fleur from attending
the party. As a result, the Kremlin, after a
4/30/24, 5:03 PM
How Russian propaganda infiltrated Russia’s pop culture scene on the eve of the presidential elections :: Detector Media
https://en.detector.media/post/how-russian-propaganda-infiltrated-russias-pop-culture-scene-on-the-eve-of-the-presidential-elections
8/14
series of video appeals by the persons
mentioned above, found a way to force
them to compensate for the "moral
damage" caused — by organizing touring
trips to the temporarily occupied
territories. From that moment, events
such as Lolita's donations to the
destroyed hospital, Kirkorov's speeches
for the Russian military in Horlivka, and
Ivleeva's laudatory publications about
Putin with agitation in his support began.
Schrödinger's pro-Putin series
Russia's film industry is also steeped in
propaganda for authorities, especially
given that the Kremlin finances several of
its projects. However, this time, the
situation is somewhat more complicated.
Meduza media released an investigation,
claiming that several films and TV series
currently popular in Russia were allegedly
created for Putin's presidential campaign
in 2024. The "Slovo Patsana" [A Word of a
Man] project attracts the most attention.
According to the publication's informants,
it was created to show how life in Russia
became better after the 1990s thanks to
Putin's policies. The series is about the
gangster life of schoolchildren in one of
the cities of the Russian hinterland.
However, the persons involved in the
production of this and other projects from
the Meduza list, in the comments for the
media, claimed that they either did not
know about the project’s intentions or that
the projects were created exclusively for
the sake of commerce. For example, the
Kremlin appropriated other people's
achievements, establishing false
4/30/24, 5:03 PM
How Russian propaganda infiltrated Russia’s pop culture scene on the eve of the presidential elections :: Detector Media
https://en.detector.media/post/how-russian-propaganda-infiltrated-russias-pop-culture-scene-on-the-eve-of-the-presidential-elections
9/14
connections to imitate its active work. It
exemplifies how political technologists
use cultural products for
subtlecampaigning for Putin.
Until YouTube is banned
Agitational propaganda does not shy away
from involving representatives of the
blogosphere in its campaigning. For
example, showbiz columnist Alyona
Zhigalova with the pseudonym "Alyona,
Damn" (1.26 million subscribers on her
YouTube channel), makes personal
reviews of the "news" of the Russian pop
scene, filled with propagandistic clichés.
She constantly invites pro-Russian stars
to her program and asks questions on the
special military operation’s topics. Ani
Lorak shared her answers to this topic
after a long pause on Zhigalova’s channel.
In another interview with producer Yana
Rudkovskaya, at the beginning of the
existence of her YouTube channel, in
response to questions about the then
battles between oligarch Usmanov and
Navalny, she said that she chose
Usmanov and Putin because, as a
business person with him in power, she is
confident in the future. There are several
other showbiz YouTube channels, which
were instrumentalized by Russian
propaganda, but "Alona, Damn" is the
largest of them in terms of its reach. A
blogger with political leanings became
especially active right now, all on the eve
of the elections.
Unusual silence
4/30/24, 5:03 PM
How Russian propaganda infiltrated Russia’s pop culture scene on the eve of the presidential elections :: Detector Media
https://en.detector.media/post/how-russian-propaganda-infiltrated-russias-pop-culture-scene-on-the-eve-of-the-presidential-elections
10/14
This year's election campaign is
especially peculiar, unlike previous years,
where there was at least some imitation of
competition. This year, apart from the trips
of loyal celebrities to the temporarily
occupied territories [of Ukraine], there is
no such active campaigning by Putin's
"competitors". Central Committee’s official
slogan for the elections is: "Together we
are strong. We vote for Russia."
Meanwhile, it is happening in light of how
the "administrations" in the temporarily
occupied territories are forcing state
employees to publish photos of their
families from the polling stations on social
networks as part of a "flash mob". The
following question arises — why does
Russia have elections at all? My
colleagues aimed to research the matter
in this analysis piece.
Silence is also a tactic in this campaign.
There are no alternatives, and there is only
one choice. In materials from local
celebrities, one can find many Russian
propaganda tactics, such as constant
repetition of the same anti-Ukrainian
theses or creation of false confirmations,
such as "Putin is the one and only."
Because of this, the role of pop culture
should not be underestimated and
perceived as irrelevant to disinformation
research. After all, Russia's pop culture
and politics have long been closely
united. The situation with Russian show
business is an example of this. Moreover,
we hope it will serve as solid evidence for
bringing people to justice. After all, fascist
songs also servedas proof of the regime
being guilty during the Nuremberg
Tribunal.
4/30/24, 5:03 PM
How Russian propaganda infiltrated Russia’s pop culture scene on the eve of the presidential elections :: Detector Media
11/14
Image collage credits: Natalia Lobach
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