The first of this semester's research seminars will see a talk hosted by our very own Dr. Ilya Yablokov.

Putin’s regime has managed to solve many problems with intimidation, corruption and massive propaganda, but in 2020 it has encountered the issue that was stronger than any of the its instruments. COVID-19 pandemic had disastrous consequences for Russia: with negligence of authorities and due to the lack of medical professionals, COVID-19 caused major losses for the society. Yet, the Kremlin’s relationship with COVID-19 is the saga of state-run disinformation and the lesson that every propaganda has limits. First, the Kremlin’s media made fun of the global pandemic. Then the Kremlin tried to hide the real death toll by rigging the official stats. Finally, it claimed to invent the first coronavirus vaccine and invited the Russians to get a jab. However, mass vaccination was met with an unprecedented resistance that shook the popularity of the regime and made it's propaganda to tumble over.

This paper investigates the Telegram channel ‘Covid-19 resistance’, one of the biggest grass roots online communities. It analyses posts, narratives, and sentiments of Russian COVID-19 sceptics throughout the pandemic (March 2021-June 2022).

About the speaker

Ilya joined the University of Sheffield in July 2021 as Lecturer in Digital Journalism and Disinformation. His sphere of research interests includes (but is not limited to) dis/misinformation, conspiracy theories, international broadcasting and political communication as well as journalistic practices of (self-)censorship in the post-socialist countries. His most recent projects focus on the production and dissemination of Russian state disinformation campaigns via the so-called ‘troll factories’. Together with Elisabeth Schimpfossl, Ilya is working on the monograph 'Russian Media Mavericks: Feeding the Fire of Authoritarianism' about the history of Russian media elites since 1987 and the ways they contributed to Putin's authoritarianism and the war in Ukraine.

This is a hybrid event: you can join in person or online. A link for those who wish to join this event can be found here. 

This talk is organised in conjunction with the Disinformation Research Cluster.