What is it about?
The paper discusses the inability of anti-Putin systemic opposition to create a broad popular front because of their "progressive" imagination. Establishing a solid barrier between activists pushing forward the agenda of democratization and “others” who oppose it (presented as “underdeveloped,” “inferior,” or “sick"), the discourse of progressivism did not allow for a democratic exchange of opinions between the two antagonistic camps.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
As I attempt to show in this article, progressive discourses may be counter-productive when it comes to mass mobilization for the sake of fighting against totalitarian regimes. Instead of forming coalitions with other social groups, these disourses only reinforce antagonisms between them, preventing the formation of a popular front.
Perspectives
Many observers believe it is exclusively Putin and his system of power that divides the people of Russia into antagonistic camps. Indeed, the Kremlin's propagandistic machine does everything possible to present the members of the non-systemic opposition as enemies of the Russian state. However, as my research suggests, the contribution of the opposition itself to the process of alienation is also difficult to overestimate. It is unrealistic to expect that the general population of Russia would support those who systematically disparaged and demeaned them.
Olga Baysha
University of Colorado Boulder Norlin Library
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: On progressive identity and internal colonization: A case study from Russia, International Journal of Cultural Studies, September 2014, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1367877914549227.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
