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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 19h

Recently Published: Text-as-Data Methods to Study Mass-Media Manipulations in Autocracies by Lanabi La Lova Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This article explores how text-as-data methodologies can be used to reveal patterns of mass-media manipulation strategies employed in modern autocracies. First, it explains the importance of studying media strategies by reviewing literature on autocratic resilience, with a particular focus on scholarship addressing state-controlled mass-media tactics. Next, it outlines the computational methods currently used to study mass-media management, highlighting key academic contributions in the field of political communication, especially those focused on present-day autocracies. Finally, the article discusses the challenges of using text-as-data methods to study mass-media management strategies in autocracies.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Recently Published (🔆Open Access🔆): From Restricted to Digital Fieldwork: A Renewed Methodological Framework for Russian Studies After the Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine by Kevin Limonier & Maxime Audinet doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

The “exogenous shock” provoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has profoundly transformed the subfield of Russian studies, raising significant methodological and epistemological issues. Like many before them, scholars in Russian studies, mainly from Western institutions, are faced with the need to renew their research methods and sources in light of the challenging access to the research field in Russia. Rooted in discussions on the “computational turn” and digitization of area studies, this article proposes to overcome these new challenges by exploring Russia through its digital fieldwork. Over the past decade, open-source investigations have become decisive in the documentation of objects as diverse as organized crime, elite corruption, or contemporary conflicts. Generally referred to as OSINT (Open Source Intelligence), these investigative practices are made possible by the omnipresence of sensors that digitize a growing proportion of human activities and generate digital footprints. Although these sources are widely used by intelligence services, journalists, and activists, the reflections carried out to integrate them into the “toolbox” of the social scientist in Russian studies are still embryonic and deserve to be enriched. As part of this special issue, this article contributes to this effort, by reviewing the existing literature in “digital Russian studies,” highlighting key epistemological and ethical issues associated with digital investigation in authoritarian context, and proposing a draft methodological framework for potential research avenues. The result is the possibility of a fieldwork “augmented” by digital technology, the use of which proves particularly fruitful to study wartime Russian politics.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Recently published: Introduction to the Special Issue on Methodological Challenges and New Approaches to Data Collection and Analysis in the Context of War, Conflict, and Authoritarianism by Gulnaz Sharafutdinova and Maxim Alyukov doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shattered the status quo in Russian and Eurasian studies. Along with numerous moral and security implications, it has raised questions about the validity and reliability of widely used research methods in the region, placing research on Russia and Belarus on par with studies of other closed, repressive authoritarian systems, and it has placed research on Ukraine on par with studies conducted in the context of war, civil war, and violent conflict. Drawing on existing research on autocracies and conflict, this article reviews ongoing debates on the methodological, ethical, and epistemological challenges of conducting research in repressive or unsafe environments and introduces contributions to this special issue. Leveraging expertise in computational methods, ethnographic and qualitative research, survey research, and other approaches, the authors address issues of access to the field; availability, validity, and reliability of data; and ethical challenges. Based on their own ongoing research projects, they reflect on how methodological and ethical constraints shape knowledge production on autocracies and in conflict zones while offering potential “work-arounds” to overcome these barriers. This special issue demonstrates that despite these challenges, there are opportunities for productive comparative studies of authoritarian regimes across different contexts and in-depth analysis of conflict zones. However, these opportunities must be balanced with careful consideration of methodological biases, risks, ethical dilemmas, and the need for ongoing awareness of the knowledge-power nexus, which inevitably elevates some scholarly perspectives while marginalizing others.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The editorial team at CPCS congratulates the winners of the inaugural Global Collaborative Research Award: Dorota Pietrzyk-Reeves and Paula M. Pickering, "Perceptions and Drivers of Civic Activism: The Cases of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Poland." doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

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Perceptions and Drivers of Civic ActivismThe Cases of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Poland

Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is considered a laboratory for both democratization and democratic backsliding, but little is known still about how ordinary citizens perceive and make decisions about...

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The September issue is out! Featuring a long-awaited special section on Methodological Challenges and New Approaches to Data Collection and Analysis in the Context of War, Conflict, and Authoritarianism, guest edited by Gulnaz Sharafutdinova and Maxim Alyukov. online.ucpress.edu/cpcs/issue/5...

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

New in Advance Articles: Worries About Workers: Neoliberal Morality, Russian Sociology, and the Quest to Raise Labor Productivity, 1960–2000 by Alexa von Winning doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This article explores how Russian sociologists contributed to the moral framing of economic reform during the post-Soviet 1990s. Drawing on opinion polls conducted by the famous Russian poll center VTsIOM between 1993 and 2000, it argues that these surveys operated not only as descriptive instruments but also as prescriptive texts promoting a normative model of the ideal capitalist worker. Sociologists advanced a trinity of traits—motivation, self-reliance, and risk affinity—as essential to overcoming a perceived “Soviet deformation” of the workforce. While these ideas reflected global neoliberal currents, they were also deeply rooted in late Soviet concerns with labor productivity. By tracing the genealogy of these discourses from the 1960s through the perestroika era, the article challenges the notion of a sharp post-1991 rupture and highlights the continuity of reformist thinking that added to the urgency of the reform agenda after 1991. It further contends that sociological expertise became a tool of governance, shaping public perceptions of work and economic success while pathologizing specific social groups—particularly women, rural populations, and older workers. In doing so, the article offers a nuanced reading of post-socialist neoliberalism as both transnationally informed and locally embedded. It contributes to ongoing debates about the role of intellectual elites in transition contexts and the cultural politics of economic reform in post-communist societies.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Recently published: Knowledge Production and Resistance in Times of War: The Case of Russian Liberal Scholars by Elena Pavlova Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

Today scholars have often expressed skepticism about the existence of any significant anti-war resistance within Russia, as well as about the feasibility and necessity of studying Russian society. By analyzing the data collected in 21 interviews with Russian liberal scholars, conducted in 2022–23, I show that resistance could be reconceptualized along the lines of James Scott’s infrapolitics: interview as a method that still enables one to reconstruct the way in which Russian oppositional scholars see their changed social role, relations with the outside world, and the possibilities of resistance.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Recently published: Sino-Russian Relations from the Perspective of National Role Theory: Mutual Role Expectations and Symbolic Contestation in Media Discourses by Elizaveta Priupolina Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This study explores the discursive patterns of mutual altercasting, role-claiming, and symbolic contestation in Russian and Chinese media in the 2010s, relying on the national role theory (NRT). The article demonstrates how the relations between Russia and China may be considered from the perspective of the complexity of role claims, mutual expectations, and altercasting efforts rather than locating them along the spectrum with good and bad at the edges. This study thus reveals how Russian expectations to enact the role of competitors vis-à-vis the West jointly are not fully reflected by Chinese media. Yet, Chinese media conforms to the Russian expectation of acceptance as a great power. China’s expectation of Russia to jointly act as a model for other nations in global governance is eventually built into Russian media discourses. The complexity of their interactions in Central Asia is approached through the lens of the roles of regional powers that both have continuously enacted, as well as their attempts to locate a role of regional leader, which has led to the emergence of symbolic contestation. Nevertheless, while acknowledging the persistence of symbolic contestation, this article concludes that acting as cooperative partners in Central Asia and beyond is a priority for both Russia and China during the period under consideration.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

New in Advance Articles (🔆Open Access🔆): The “Battle over Street Trade”: Bottom-Up Market Practices and the Contested Spirit of Capitalism in Post-Socialist Poland by Florian Peters doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

Bazaars, street trading, and secondhand car marts accompanied the implosion of the communist economies throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the early 1990s. In Poland, due to the longtime agony of the country’s economy under late socialism, informal markets spread earlier than elsewhere in the region. While acknowledging the crucial role of this homegrown market economy in shaping vernacular imaginaries of capitalism in the transformation period, this article argues for caution with romanticizing it in retrospect. Contemporaneously, the extraordinary expansion of informal markets continued to be contested on various grounds. The emergent spirit of capitalism did not blend easily with the social fabric of the time, and it was left to municipal governments to regulate what was seen as chaotic and unwelcome proliferation by many—not least because it introduced a tangible transnational dimension into post-socialist lifeworlds. Based on empirical case studies from Warsaw and the industrial town of Starachowice in southeastern Poland, this article analyzes the struggles over liberalizing and then regulating informal markets. Considering them as tangible expressions of ongoing renegotiations of economic and social imaginaries during the early transformation years, the article complicates linear narratives on the impact of grassroots capitalism on post-socialist transformation.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Recently published: Distributional Consequences of Political Freedom: Inequality in Transition Countries by Monika Wesołowska, Sławomir Kuźmar, Bartosz Totleben & Dawid Piątek Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This article addresses the origins of income inequality in post-socialist countries from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, from 1991 to 2016. The aim is to analyze the relationship between democracy and income inequality. In previous studies, this topic has led to ambiguous findings, especially in the context of the group of countries we are focusing on. We examine whether the process of democratization co-occurred with changes in income distribution over the entire period under study, and its impact on individual income deciles to determine who benefited most from the new system. The obtained results allowed us to confirm that the actual relationship between democratization and income inequality did not exist, or at most was illusory in the 1990s, but it was present, relevant, and had a pro-equality character between 2001 and 2016. During that period, the development of the democratic system benefited at least 80% of the lower part of the income distribution, at the expense especially of the top decile’s share of total income. Those results confirmed that democratization positively affected the shares of lower income deciles in post-socialist countries.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

New in Advance Articles: Informality, Business Environment, and Legal Reform in Weak Rule-of-Law Context: Case Study of Institutionalized Informal Business Networks in Uzbekistan by Tolibjon Mustafoev doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

While contemporary scholarship on post-Soviet informality typically frames informal networks as either adaptive (survival) or parallel (subversive forces undermining formal governance) mechanisms, this ethnographic study demonstrates their dual nature as both. Focusing on Uzbekistan’s transitional context (2020–24), the article reveals how informal business networks construct hybrid governance by actively reshaping formal institutions through the influence of their cultural dispositions (collectively internalized informal ideological frameworks and normative practices). Employing a socio-legal perspective, the research examines the complex interplay between formal and informal institutions to better understand the dual functionality of informal business networks in the post-Soviet context. By combining top-down institutional analysis with a bottom-up ethnographic approach, the study shows how informal Uzbek business networks (categorized in the article as analytical ideal-types, termed Western-style, Islamic-style, and Soviet-style) simultaneously respond to state regulatory frameworks while developing their normative orders through everyday business practices. The study draws on Douglass North’s institutional theory and the theory of legal pluralism to analyze the abovementioned processes. The findings of this article offer new insights into state-society relations in post-communist contexts by redefining the “network state” as a dynamic interplay of formal and informal governance.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Recently published: Creating Good Young Patriots: Russian Youth Leaders on Telegram and the War against Ukraine by Ian Garner & Allyson Edwards Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This article investigates the role of two state youth group leaders in disseminating patriotic discourses to young Russians on Telegram in the first six months after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The authors argue that these leaders use social media influencer (SMI) techniques to “launder” and propagate narratives that align with the Kremlin’s agenda. The methodological approach involved a comprehensive critical discourse analysis of six months of posts from the Telegram accounts of Nikita Nagornyy, leader of Iunarmiia [Youth Army], and Olga Zanko, leader of Volontery Pobedy [Victory Volunteers]. By cataloguing and comparing the thematic and rhetorical elements of these posts, the study identifies key strategies used to disseminate discourses around patriotic behavior and active engagement with state politics. “Good patriots” were deemed to be those who aided other Russians, took part in the perpetuation of memory politics, and engaged in militarized activities. “Good patriots” were able to participate equally in physical or virtual activities. Feed followers were given the impression of choice and active participation in the construction and dissemination of state discourses. Choices were, however, limited to state-approved activities. The findings reveal a coordinated effort to amplify state-approved messages, leveraging the personal appeal and wide reach of these influencers to legitimize and normalize the official stance on the war. This research contributes to the understanding of digital propaganda and the instrumentalization of social media in modern warfare, highlighting the critical role of influencers in the information landscape of conflict.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

New in Advance Articles (🔆Open Access🔆): Patriotic Education in China: Serving the Party Under the Socialist Rule of Law by Martin Lavička & Marina Svensson doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Recently published: Through Their Eyes: Agency and Resilience in Children’s Photography of the Russia-Ukraine War by Iuliia Hoban Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

The full-scale war in Ukraine has had a wide-ranging impact on the nation’s children as they have been displaced, wounded, and even killed. In the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukrainian children found ways and created spaces that allowed them to express their agency, ranging from narrating their experiences in diaries, poems, and art to engaging in political activities related to war. This study explores the potential of arts-based programs to empower children affected by armed conflict, with a focus on the Behind Blue Eyes initiative, implemented following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. By distributing disposable cameras, this program encouraged children affected by war to document their lives through photography, subsequently sharing their visual narratives on the Behind Blue Eyes initiative’s social media account on Instagram. Through thematic and semiotic analyses of these digital stories, this research investigates how children express agency, engage with geopolitical discourses, and navigate their traumatic experiences through their photographs during the Russia-Ukraine war. The study also examines how adults mediate children’s narratives through digital storytelling, revealing the complex dynamics of children’s agency within armed conflict contexts. The research addresses these questions and contributes to the scholarly discourse on children’s experiences in conflicts beyond Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. This research also advances the understanding of how arts-based programs offer a medium for children to express and transform their experiences of war, which also challenges narratives of children as passive actors in contexts of large-scale political violence.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

New in Advance Articles: How (Not) to Hide Your Data: Availability of Quantitative Datasets from Russia and Implications for Russian Studies by Alexander Libman & Gareth Whitmore doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

While authoritarian regimes are typically seen as prone to secrecy and restricting access to data, individual autocracies differ greatly from each other—some are better in terms of data accessibility and quality than others. The preference of autocracies for secrecy is likely to depend on a large number of scope conditions. One particularly likely condition is the perception of external and domestic threats, which ought to make the preference for secrecy stronger. From this perspective, we look at how Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine affected the data availability preferences of the Russian authoritarian regime. Whereas before the invasion, Russia belonged to autocracies with relatively high data availability, the war led to decreasing data availability and quality. At the same time, even after the full-scale invasion, Russia continues to publish a large number of datasets and allows data collection by independent pollsters. We discuss the implications of this development for Russian studies..

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Recently published: Media Literacy and the Interpretation of the War—A Study of Uzbekistani Youth’s Perceptions on the Russia-Ukraine War Free by Mukhammadsodik Donaev Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This study examines how media literacy influences the perceptions of young people in Uzbekistan regarding the Russia-Ukraine war. With the media’s pervasive role in shaping public understanding of global events, this research explores the extent to which media literacy, defined as the ability to critically analyze and evaluate media messages, affects the views of Uzbekistani youth on this conflict. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combines qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey involving 927 participants under 35 years old. The findings showed that higher levels of media literacy among Uzbekistani youth correlate with more critical perspectives on the war, a greater capacity to identify bias, and a reduced susceptibility to propagandistic narratives. Conversely, lower levels of media literacy indicated a correlation with strong support for one-sided, particularly, Russian-aligned narratives without questioning or minimal critical judgment. These perceptions are further shaped by sociocultural factors, including family opinions, social environments, and educational attainment, as well as the influence of broader geopolitical events, such as the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The study also stresses the need for developing comprehensive media literacy programs in Uzbekistan that are specifically designed to reflect the unique sociocultural contexts of the youth. This research contributes to global discussions about media literacy, political awareness, and youth engagement in contested information environments by drawing insights from Uzbekistan’s post-Soviet context.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

New in Advance Articles: From Object of Trauma to Subject of History: Women Shuttle Traders Telling Their Own Stories of the Wild 1990s in Russia. by Claudia Eggart doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent “wild 1990s” are increasingly portrayed in Russian public discourse as a traumatic experience. This framing contrasts the perceived chaos and lawlessness of the 1990s with a nostalgic idealization of the Soviet past and the narrative of restored state strength since Putin’s second presidency. This pervasive framing often implicitly imposes a role of disempowered subjects upon individuals who lived through the upheaval. Drawing on biographical interviews conducted in 2018 with 12 former market traders across Russia, this article challenges these instrumental trauma narratives. The analysis explores how people who worked as “shuttle traders” in the 1990s retroactively construct their pasts by asserting their active participation and rejecting externally defined victimhood. Their narratives point to alternative frameworks that reconcile Soviet-era moral economies with emerging neoliberal values, emphasizing resilience, entrepreneurial acumen, material gains, and self-reliance. They assert themselves as capable agents who actively shaped their trajectories and broader social relations amid systemic collapse. Their life stories offer counter-narratives to the streamlining of the memory culture of the 1990s and demonstrate how moral justifications for capitalism are negotiated among ordinary people. Ultimately, these women’s accounts reveal the 1990s as a contested moral terrain encompassing a broad range of experiences that go well beyond a framing of the era solely through trauma and treachery.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Recently published: Language Activism in Kazakhstan: Decolonial Sentiments and (Post-) Soviet Reality by Kamila Smagulova & Joanna Bagadzinska Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This article explores the phenomenon of language activism in Kazakhstan, examining its roots and contemporary manifestations within a decolonial framework. Despite Soviet colonialism not being traditionally classified as typical colonialism, it resulted in significant sociolinguistic inequalities, particularly between the Russian and Kazakh languages. The research highlights how modern Kazakh language activists challenge this imbalance by promoting the use and prestige of Kazakh, addressing issues of linguistic justice and national identity reconstruction. The study emphasizes the impact of nation-building policies and the role of grassroots activism in navigating the complexities of bilingualism and ethnic identity. It argues that the current wave of activism not only reflects decolonial sentiments but also contributes to a broader discourse on linguistic justice in a multiethnic society. The analysis is grounded in the sociopolitical context of (post-)Soviet Kazakhstan, with particular attention to recent geopolitical shifts and their influence on language dynamics.

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Reposted by Communist and Post-Communist Studies

Claudia Eggart @ceggart.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

New publication in @cpcs.bsky.social. In it, I ask: Who gets to define the legacy of the Russian 1990s? Former shuttle traders challenge official trauma narratives, emphasizing agency, material gains, and the moral complexities of capitalism. OA for 2 more weeks here: shorturl.at/PSGXp

shorturl.at

From Object of Trauma to Subject of HistoryWomen Shuttle Traders Telling Their Own Stories of the Wild 1990s in Russia

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent “wild 1990s” are increasingly portrayed in Russian public discourse as a traumatic experience. This framing contrasts the perceived chaos and lawles...

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

The June issue is out! Featuring a special section on Youth and Russia's War Against Ukraine (guest eds Ian Garner & Allyson Edwards), articles on inequality in transition, Sino-Russian relations, plus a research note on Russian scholars in times of war. online.ucpress.edu/cpcs/issue/5...

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Congrats to Natalia Otrishchenko, Artem Kharchenko, and Valentyna Shevchenko, for winning the AAUS best article prize for their article “Ukrainian Researchers in a War Documentation Project: Intertwined Experiences and Methodologies”! (Article link in next post)

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

New in Advance Articles: Determinants of Voting Behavior in the 2023 Polish Parliamentary Election by Wojciech Gagatek & Michał Kotnarowski doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

Following two terms of Eurosceptic right rule under Law and Justice (PiS), a new coalition government led by the Civic Coalition (KO) emerged in Poland in 2023. This election marked a unique case of a dominant radical-right populist party losing power through democratic means, despite extensive institutional advantages and media capture. This article investigates individual-level factors that played a role in shaping voters’ choices during this election. It first briefly surveys the political stances of the major parties and the programmatic coherence in the two alternative party setups. It then analyzes party electorates through sociodemographic, geographic, and attitudinal lenses. Finally, it employs regression analysis to pinpoint the variables that most inform vote choice. By analyzing individual-level determinants in this context, the study advances voter behavior theory, showing how classic factors—sociodemographic characteristics, religiosity, economic evaluations, and ideological self-placement—interact with context-specific concerns about democratic norms. The findings indicate that in critical elections, voters’ choices are shaped not only by material interests and social structure, but also by deeply held democratic values and perceptions of systemic threats, enriching our understanding of how electoral behavior can respond to the challenges of democratic consolidation.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

New in Advance Articles: Nothing Was Available and Everything Was Possible: The Moral Economy of Small-Scale Enterprise Between Late Socialism and Capitalism Available to Purchase by Veronika Pehe & Petr Kupka doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This article explores how people who engaged in small-scale private enterprise under late socialism and early capitalism in the 1990s retrospectively construct their business activities as legitimate. Based on a set of oral history interviews with Czech small-scale and micro entrepreneurs, the article seeks to understand how the “spirit of capitalism” (Boltanski and Chiapello 2007), recognized by early 1990s policymakers as a new moral system, met the field of (post)socialist small-scale business whose actors were shaped by a range of pre-understandings emerging from the late socialist informal economy. To this end, it adopts a moral economy perspective and analyzes the vernacular means through which informants expressed moral judgment of entrepreneurial activities under socialism and capitalism by focusing on three categories: work ethic, entrepreneurial spirit, and honesty. While the particular character traits, abilities, and virtues invoked by informants remained stable, they acquired new meanings across the break of 1989 dependent on the political context. What characterizes the entrepreneurial field as opposed to other sectors of the labor market is the ubiquity of illicit and unlawful practices that informants either encountered or engaged in themselves, subjecting such practices to moral judgment. The article argues that while the political discourse of the 1990s placed high hopes in entrepreneurs as guarantors of the new moral system, embodying this ideal proved unattainable for many small-scale entrepreneurs, fostering feelings of disillusionment with postsocialist developments among some of the informants.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

CPCS is at CAS 2026 @canslavpapers.bsky.social! Come talk to Editor-in-chief Paul Goode @jpaulgoode.bsky.social or Managing Editor Anna Kozlova about submitting your manuscript.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Recently published: From Celebrity Feminism to Feminist Anti-War Resistance by Saara Maria Ratilainen, Daniil Zhaivoronok & Galina Miazhevich Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

The research project “Mediated Feminism(s) in Contemporary Russia” (FEMCORUS 2021–25) informs this research note. Our empirical observations highlight the key trends in the dynamics of mediated feminism in Russia, prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and, subsequently, up until autumn 2024. This note considers a decade (2013–22) of the popularization of feminist discourses bolstered by social media sites, influencer culture, and celebrity media, which was then utilized for the anti-war activist mobilization of feminism in Russia. This research note brings new perspectives into the existing debate by identifying several, previously overlooked, aspects of Russian feminism(s). With the focus on the mediated discourses and expressions of feminism, and their role in feminist activist mobilization during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, our research carves out a novel interdisciplinary space for feminist research in the Russian context at the junction of transnational feminist studies, media studies, and social movement research.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

New in Advance Articles: Linking Domestic and Foreign Foes: Legitimation, Social Revolution, and Anti-Americanism During the Korean War by Yinan He doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

The “Resist America, Aid Korea” movement was the PRC’s inaugural deployment of sustained anti-foreign propaganda to secure domestic legitimation and drive social transformation. This article, grounded in theories of autocratic legitimation, identity studies, and scholarship on China’s myth of national humiliation, argues that RAAK’s demonization of the American Other—tied to internal adversaries—served to rally public support through patriotic indoctrination and justify repression of regime opponents. These functions proved essential not only for prevailing in the Korean War but also for cementing the nascent PRC regime and propelling its revolutionary agenda. The evidence is drawn from a rich corpus of CCP documents, media, and textual and visual propaganda. Especially from early 1951, as the war reached a stalemate and the Party shifted focus inward, RAAK and domestic campaigns of class struggle and political purges became increasingly intertwined through shared organizational networks and unified messaging. At its core lay a “grand conspiracy” narrative that leveraged the “black sheep effect” in social psychology to frame internal foes as US collaborators, thereby legitimizing their suppression or reeducation. This study underscores the CCP’s deliberate fusion of foreign and domestic enemies to maximize mobilization and control during a pivotal phase of PRC state- and nation-building. It provides critical insight into contemporary CCP rhetoric, which revives this earlier strategy by casting domestic dissidents as agents of “foreign hostile forces.”

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Recently published: The Birth of Collective Action Out of Influencer Culture?: Individual Visibility and Power Dynamics in the Feminist Anti-War Resistance by Daniil Zhaivoronok Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

In recent years, a body of critical scholarship has emerged that interrogates the impact of influencer culture on feminist activism. This study contributes to the ongoing scholarly debate by examining the Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAR). FAR is a digitally-enabled social movement founded by a group of Russian feminist “activist-influencers” (Semenzin 2022) after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Utilizing 16 in-depth interviews with FAR activists and digital ethnography, the research delves into the complex collective dynamics within FAR. The study highlights the central role of activist-influencers in launching this project, recruiting activists, and establishing its public communication. However, it also highlights a power imbalance stemming from the ambiguous position of activist-influencers within FAR. Some research participants noted that influencers, possessing greater media visibility and resources, disproportionately impact the movement, which claims horizontality as its core value. This has led to feelings of “confusion” and “unfairness” among some participants, and in some cases, it has complicated the effective functioning of the project. Thus, the study of FAR sheds new light on the scholarly debate about the effect of the emerging influencer culture on collective feminist politics. This research argues that influencers do not necessarily undermine the feminist collective action; rather, they can enhance mobilization and organization. However, the investment of influencers in neoliberal visibility and the attention economy may impede collective dynamics. This study underscores the need for critical engagement with digital platforms and cultures to maintain the collective ethos of feminist activism.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

New in Advance Articles: Language Activism in Kazakhstan: Decolonial Sentiments and (Post-) Soviet Reality by Kamila Smagulova & Joanna Bagadzinska doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Recently published: Micromobilizing Emotion: How Feminist Anti-War Resistance Builds Affective Infrastructure in Exile by Karolina Nugumanova Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

How do grassroots feminist movements convert moral shock into sustained resistance under war, repression, and exile? This article examines the diasporic wing of the Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAR/FAS), a transnational network of Russian feminists formed in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Drawing on 56 in-depth interviews with activists in 25 countries, it conceptualizes FAS as an affective infrastructure that joins affect, meaning, and materiality to enable emotional survival and political resistance. Extending Ward’s micromobilization model, the article advances the concept of productive mediation—a feminist process that transforms morally charged emotions into politically meaningful action and sustained participation. FAS’s repertoire—symbolic performances, embodied signals, grief activism, and care-based practices—creates an emotionally resonant, low-threshold path into and back to collective action in diasporic and authoritarian settings. The analysis shows how alignment of ideology, horizontal and decentralized structure, and ritual lowers entry costs, supports withdrawal and return after burnout, and renders dissent durable. The article contributes to three literatures: affect theory and micromobilization; feminist scholarship on exile and forced migration; and research on transnational feminist infrastructures under authoritarianism. It argues that FAS does not treat emotional labor as ancillary to politics but centers it as a generative force. Rather than merely enduring the emotional fallout of war, FAS channels difficult emotions—grief, guilt, and fear—into collective feminist action, making participation emotionally bearable and sustainable over time.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

New in Advance Articles: Colorless Revolution. Elite Rotations in Post-Nazarbayev’s Kazakhstan by Denis Ri & Kirill Petrov doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

The first power transition in contemporary Kazakhstan started in 2019 after long-term president Nursultan Nazarbayev stepped aside. Top-down rotations of elites are one of the key methods post-Soviet leaders use to manage patronal states. The staffing policy of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Nazarbayev’s successor, is no exception, although the process turned out to be extended over several years, since Tokayev inherited the elite network his predecessor had built over several decades. This research introduces a new dataset focused on elite rotations in Kazakhstan, which could serve as a blueprint for data collection on developing nations experiencing power transitions. The collected data contains sociodemographic and career characteristics of 136 cases of individuals who held the highest political and administrative offices in Kazakhstan during January 2019–April 2023, detailed up to precise durations spent in office. The results show that the high rate of renewal of Kazakhstan’s administrative elite during Tokayev’s first presidential term was achieved even before the controversial Kazakh unrest of 2022. The transition of power in Kazakhstan was completed between late 2022 and April 2023. The results can be compared to a “colorless revolution,” since the renewal of the administrative elite of Kazakhstan under the leadership of Tokayev exceeded 85%.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Recently published: The Way Home, or the Way to Prison? Gender Legacies and Anti-War Protest in Russia by Alexandra Novitskaya, Janet Elise Johnson, Valerie Sperling & Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This article analyzes the activist rhetoric of Put′ Domoi (The Way Home)—a prominent, Russia-based public protest movement consisting primarily of women whose family members were “mobilized” into fighting in Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. Using a detailed framework that describes Russia’s gender-related ideologies under Putin, we analyze Put′ Domoi’s activist rhetoric focusing primarily on the first six months of their public activism (August 2023–March 2024). We examine how the activists struggled to frame their demands in a way that would afford them some protection from repression while also allowing them to challenge the regime’s open-ended military “mobilization.” We find that this movement employed a gender-compliant framework similar to that of many grassroots wives-and-mothers movements fighting authoritarian violence within and outside of Russia, but with particular Soviet roots. Over time, Put′ Domoi became increasingly frustrated with the regime’s response to their demands and increasingly critical of the war in general. This analysis helps explain why Put′ Domoi did not immediately face repression despite engaging in regular public protests critical of Russia’s war-related policies. Our case study of Put′ Domoi also sheds light on how these kinds of women’s movements navigate the complicated repressive terrain of authoritarian rule through gender-related framing tactics.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

New in Advance Articles: We Are All Netnographers Now? Fieldwork in an Age of Participatory Warfare by Jethro Norman doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This article explores the ethical and practical challenges of conducting long-term ethnographic fieldwork in conflict zones in an era of widespread smartphone and social media use. It argues that digital technology not only transforms methodological approaches but also reshapes the nature of war itself. Drawing on insights from fieldwork in various conflict zones, including Somalia, Ukraine, and South Sudan, it asks: How does rapidly acquired digital connectivity change the way we conceptualize, approach, and conduct fieldwork in conflict zones? When smartphones are both research tools and potential weapons of war (Ford and Hoskins 2022), how can we use them ethically? Reflecting on three online/offline complexities of the author’s fieldwork experiences in Somalia/Somaliland in 2021, the article suggests that participative warfare and digital research methodologies are intertwined, driven by the proliferation of connected devices. Practical, ethical, and security concerns arise from this intersection. First, researchers may become direct participants in war, whether physically present or not. Second, there is limited awareness of the security risks posed by technology, especially given the rise of mis- and disinformation in conflict settings. Finally, since the traditional notion of the “field” has collapsed, making us potentially reachable anywhere and at any time, we need to reconsider how we establish temporal boundaries to ensure safe and sustainable research practices. The article concludes that researchers must navigate a blended field of offline and online phenomena, underscoring the need to safeguard in-person fieldwork while allowing sufficient time to engage with the digital realm.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Attending #BASEES2026 this weekend? CPCS editor Paul Goode @jpaulgoode.bsky.social will be happy to answer your questions about submitting your article, the review process, and publishing with us. See you in Birmingham! @basees.bsky.social

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Recently published: The Defending “Defenders”: Framing Public Actions in Contemporary Russian Political Opportunity Structures by Marina Bezenkova Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This article focuses on the opportunities for allowing protests in contemporary Russia despite military censorship and a ban on any public action or criticism of the ongoing war against Ukraine. The research analyzes the tactics of the women’s activism that were used on Red Square in November 2023, demanding the return of their mobilized relatives. The study shows how women activists manage risks, declare demands, and avoid detention while interacting with police and officials of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF). Through the analysis of framing perspective, the study examines the demonstration and interactions in the community’s blog. Findings indicate that the actualization of several specific framings in the movement’s action—including appropriation of the KPRF’s rhetoric and self-representation as responsible and patriotic soldiers’ wives with minor support from the KPRF—presents a space for protest in Russia’s closed political system.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

New in Advance Articles (🔆Open Access🔆): The Image of the Communist Ideo-Political Legacy: Presented in the Party Materials of Selected Contemporary European Communist Parties by P. Obacz, A. Prusak, B. Pychowski, W. Samek & K. Sowa doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

The aim of the article is to present the results of research on the different ways in which contemporary communist parties operating in various parts of Europe treat the historical, ideological, and political legacy of communism based on examples of how this legacy is utilized in the political practice of selected communist parties. Through a qualitative analysis of the existing materials (political programs, ideological and political documents, etc.), we attempted to construct the image underpinning the current ideological and political identity of 11 communist parties operating in 11 European Union member states, and to present the use of the communist legacy by both mainstream and marginal communist parties.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Recently published: Transformations in Russian Activism: Navigating Identity and Solidarity in Russia’s Anti-War Movement by Vlada Baranova Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This article examines the evolving identities and solidarity among Russia’s anti-war movement, particularly focusing on the convergence between feminist and decolonial activism. Using the Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAR) and ethnic or decolonial activists as case studies, the research highlights how solidarity influences the activists’ understanding of their objectives, reshapes identities, and introduces new grassroots coalitions. In the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine, these interactions challenge traditional boundaries between movements and foster a growing solidarity. The study draws on diverse data sources, including interviews with FAR activists, interviews with ethnic/decolonial activists, and online ethnography, to explore how discursive shifts, particularly regarding ethnic discrimination and intersectionality, redefine activist identity and solidarity. The study provides a comprehensive understanding of the convergence of decolonial activism and feminism in the context of the war against Ukraine. By analyzing these changes, the article contributes to a deeper understanding of how activist identities and alliances evolve under authoritarian conditions, providing insight into the broader dynamics of civil resistance and identity politics.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

If only someone studied these kinds of questions...

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

New in Advance Articles: Researching Russia with Digital Trace Data by Alexey Bessudnov doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

The Russo-Ukrainian war and the deterioration of the relationship between Russia and the West made the application of traditional social science research methods, such as surveys and fieldwork, difficult for researchers. It is likely that in the foreseeable future students of Russia will have to increasingly rely on the data that can be collected online. Using these data has defined the field of computational social science and has many analytical advantages and some limitations. This article provides a review of the sources of digital trace data for Russia and of the studies that used them for the analysis of political communication and behavior, education, labor markets, discrimination, and the Russo-Ukrainian war.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Recently published: Gender Egalitarianism of Recent Emigrants from Russia: The Effect of Emigration or a Trait of a Social Group? by: Veronica Kostenko, Emil Kamalov & Ivetta Sergeeva doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

Despite Russia’s relatively low ranking on gender equality, recent emigrants who left the country after February 2022 exhibit significantly higher levels of gender egalitarianism compared to their counterparts in Russia. This study investigates whether these attitudes are attributable to socio-demographic factors such as education and urban residence, or if deeper ideological and political factors play a role. Using data from the OutRush project on Russian emigration after 2022 and the World Values Survey, we analyze two key questions: Do recent emigrants demonstrate more egalitarian attitudes than socio-demographically similar Russians? Does gender equality of host countries influence emigrants’ attitudes? Our findings suggest that emigrants exhibit higher levels of gender egalitarianism than comparable groups in Russia, even after controlling for socio-demographic predictors. These differences persist after controlling for socioeconomic predictors, reflecting deeply ingrained values that were probably developed by the pre-migration experiences of political opposition actions and social activism. The results challenge theories of rapid acculturation and highlight the role of self-selection as a key factor underlying gender egalitarian attitudes.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

New in Advance Articles: Social Media Listening Platforms in Wartime Russia: Limits and Opportunities by Olga Logunova & Pavel Lebedev doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

The Russian online sphere today is subjected to sophisticated forms of control, including self-censorship, legal repression, and the shutdown of global platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, leaving state-controlled Russian platforms as the primary means of digital communication for the public. In this article, we explore the potential and limitations of using social media data to study cultural processes and societal dynamics within a non-transparent authoritarian context of wartime Russia as the government attempts to censor all explicit forms of political communication. Specifically, we discuss data provided by social media listening (SML) platforms and argue that, despite methodological and organizational challenges, SML in an authoritarian context offers unique opportunities to gauge cultural and social trends, particularly through the identification of micro triggers (signals) and macro patterns of online discourse. The huge volume of data extracted from SML enables scholars to explore deeper layers of information beyond mere text, including metadata from platforms such as author details and engagement metrics, and provides AI-driven analytical tools, such as sentiment analysis, topic modeling, and named entity recognition.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Recently published: The Evolution of Women’s Activism in Russia: Evidence of a Declining Gender Protest Gap by: Regina Smyth, Ivan Grigoriev & Anna A. Dekalchuk Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

New evidence suggests that the gender protest gap—the difference between male and female participation in protest events—has decreased in Russia prior to February 2022, despite the patriarchal, authoritarian regime. Following the comparative literature, we rely on a survey experiment to show that women strategically participate in activism that have limited risk of state violence or social sanctions. Distinctions between the nature of protests and protest grievances as well as strategic opportunities to choose among protest repertoires and frames allow women to engage in activism without significant costs. There are two important exceptions. First, women are still less likely to participate in overtly politicized actions that challenge the regime. They are also less likely to participate in state-sponsored actions or actions in support of traditional family values voluntarily, although they are often coerced to do so. To explore the mechanisms that support these patterns in women’s activism, we rely on two additional types of evidence: a narrative of recent developments in women’s activism and interviews with Russian women activists in exile. These data illustrate the pathways to activism that underpin the activism against Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine that is reported in the articles in this special issue.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

New in Advance Articles: Forged in Crises: Convergence of Authoritarian Legitimacy Claims in Sino-Belarusian Relations by Michał Słowikowski & Bartosz Kowalski doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

The evolution of Sino-Belarusian relations has acquired considerable geopolitical significance since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013 and the formal establishment of a strategic partnership between the two states. This analysis seeks to demonstrate that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sino-Belarusian relations gained a new momentum, with the global health crisis serving as a catalyst for the convergence of legitimacy claims between the two authoritarian regimes. This convergence is rooted in a shared foundational myth centered on World War II, ideological opposition to the West, personalist leadership structures, and China’s demonstrative performance in global affairs. The impact of these dynamics has persisted beyond the Belarusian political crisis of 2020 and the Russian war in Ukraine. Although Russia’s support is pivotal for ensuring the continuity of the Belarusian regime, this study argues that, unlike the Kremlin—which is perceived as a vestige of Belarusian dependencies and obligations—China provides the Lukashenko regime with a platform for “expansive” legitimacy. The findings contribute to the broader scholarly discourse on the international dimension of authoritarian legitimacy by demonstrating how China strategically expands its political influence over smaller autocratic states, not only reinforcing their legitimacy but also leveraging them as instruments to challenge Western hegemony in global politics.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Recently published: Introduction: New Research on Russian Women’s Anti-War Activism after February 2022 by: Regina Smyth & Veronica Kostenko Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

Our special issue explores the roots, strategies, and frames that shaped women’s activism contesting Russia’s war in Ukraine. This introductory article places gendered anti-war activism in the context of the late Soviet and post-Soviet periods. This approach highlights critical changes that have occurred in Russian politics and society in the past two decades. On the one hand, we observe the rise of a new grassroots feminism and increased women’s activism, as well as the rise of horizontal protest organizations that effectively relied on new media as a tool of mobilization. On the other hand, we observe a profound change in the regimes’ repressive response to all types of wartime activism and growing societal quiescence in the face of state actions against soldiers’ wives and mothers. We conclude with a discussion of the articles included in the special issue, to highlight the debates and contributions that emerged across different approaches and empirical lenses.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

The March issue is out! A special issue on Russian Women's Anti-War Activism After February 2022, guest edited by Regina Smyth and Veronica Kostenko. Check it out here👇 online.ucpress.edu/cpcs/issue/5...

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

New in Advance Articles (🔆Open Access🔆): From Restricted to Digital Fieldwork: A Renewed Methodological Framework for Russian Studies After the Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine Open Access by Kevin Limonier and Maxime Audinet doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

Recently published: Elite Narratives and State Response to Kazakhstan’s Qandy Qantar Protests by Hannah S. Chapman and Raushan Zhandayeva online.ucpress.edu/cpcs/article...

Weeks before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian-led CSTO forces intervened in Kazakhstan’s January 2022 Qandy Qantar protests at the government’s request. Many observers predicted this intervention would deepen Kazakhstan’s dependence on Russia, leading to support for Moscow’s invasion. Yet Kazakhstan’s subsequent actions defied these expectations. This study examines how the Kazakhstani government strategically framed and managed domestic unrest within a shifting geopolitical context, from initially emphasizing foreign threats to justify CSTO intervention to later reframing reforms as necessary for protecting sovereignty amid global upheaval. Through analysis of evolving state narratives and policy decisions, we demonstrate how great power-centric analysis overlooks the sophisticated ways states navigate asymmetric relationships. This case illustrates the importance of examining how smaller states in asymmetric relationships strategically manage both domestic and international pressures to advance their interests.

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

New in Advance Articles: Through Their Eyes: Agency and Resilience in Children’s Photography of the Russia-Ukraine War by Iuliia Hoban online.ucpress.edu/cpcs/article...

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies @cpcs.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Recently published (🔆Open Access🔆): Communist Social Policy: Pension Policy in Bulgaria by Maria Ignatova-Pfarr & Carina Schmitt Free access for one week: online.ucpress.edu/cpcs/article...

The introduction of a universal, egalitarian social security system was promoted by the USSR in all countries within its sphere of influence during the communist period. However, despite this rather uniform external pressure, communist countries followed different social policy routes in terms of timing and design. Bulgaria was one of the first Eastern European countries to introduce a uniform pension system within a short period of time. In this article, we argue that besides communist ideology and pressure from the USSR, pre-communist social policy legacies, national constellation of influential actors, and country-specific socioeconomic conditions during the communist era are crucial when explaining the concrete design and timing of pension reforms in communist states. Using the method of process tracing and based on archival and document research, we shed light on the two most important pension reforms targeting the rural population in communist Bulgaria. We show that the political and ideological developments in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s in combination with the demographic and economic problems of Bulgarian agriculture can explain the early establishment of a unified pension insurance system in Bulgaria.

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