Issue 2. From Comrades to Classmates: Social Networks on the Russian Internet
Heather MacLeod
Heather MacLeod is an independent scholar. She holds a B.A. in Russian and Eastern European Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include political communication, generational differences in political participation, and youth movements. This article stems from her research in conjunction with her senior thesis, “The Rising Generation: Exploring Political Attitudes and Behaviors.”
2.2 Examining Political Group Membership on LiveJournal
Following the tightening of control over traditional media outlets in the Russian Federation, the Internet has been proposed as a new tool for dissemination of political information, political organization, and as an indicator of political attitudes. In an effort to examine the proposed political functions of the Internet, I study the case of LiveJournal, which at the time of the investigation was Russia’s most popular blogging and social networking site that contained political material. The site contained many political groups which members could join or watch. In my examination of user engagement with specific and general political groups, I find that the total number of LiveJournal members following political groups was extremely low in comparison to the general pool of users, and some users had seemingly conflicting political interests.
Language of contribution: English