Kolonitskii B., Matskevich M. (2018) The Desacralization of Revolution and Anti-revolution Consensus in Modern Russia: the 2017 Anniversary and Its (Non-)Use in Politics. Mir Rossii, vol. 27, no 4, pp. 78–101 (in Russian). DOI: 10.17323 ...

Текст статьи на сайте журнала URL: https://mirros.hse.ru/article/view/8012/8722 (дата обращения 01.10.2018)

Abstract

Using a case study approach, the authors review the relationship between Russian symbolic politics and public opinion in the context of the 100th anniversary of the Russian revolution. Public opinion polls and other sources demonstrate that this anniversary was not perceived as an important event by the majority of Russians. The main political actors – the authorities and their opponents – did not exploit the anniversary for their own goals. The authors argue that this lack of interest in exploiting the revolution in political rhetoric could be due to an anti-revolution consensus, i.e. a situation in which most Russians openly oppose a revolution as a possible future scenario for their country, even though they differ widely in how they evaluate the revolution of 1917. Apart from politicians, this also had a great impact on other actors such as writers, film directors, and social movement activists. The authors conclude that the anti-revolutionary consensus constrains the repertoire of protest activities by limiting the use of the Russian revolutionary political tradition.

Content (in russ)