Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Communicative Strategies of Russian Politicians on Social Networking Site Vkontakte

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Book cover Electronic Governance and Open Society: Challenges in Eurasia (EGOSE 2019)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 1135))

  • 845 Accesses

Abstract

The problem of elaboration of effective publication strategies of social media presence was not thoroughly studied in the context of Russian political communication. At the same time, this communication channel is becoming increasingly important on both Federal and regional levels as this exact channel provides broad opportunities related to communication with the audience, recruitment of new participants and receiving feedback. Based on the audience requests, politicians and press relations services build specific strategies of media presence, which could differ significantly in terms of its content and targeting.

In this research, we conduct a comparative analysis of publication strategies used by politicians of different levels on their social network accounts. Qualitative analysis is applied to the content of the posts. We use taxonomy based on definition of the key topics highlighted by every political leader and text orientation: informing, persuasion, mobilizing or interacting.

We also consider technical characteristics of strategies, such as use of video materials or external links in the posts. In order to evaluate the participation effect, we used metrics such as likes, comments and audience engagement rate. Data consolidation helped us to conclude that accounts of pro-government political leaders operate more in the informing mode and opposition use varied communicative models: informing, persuasion, and interaction in different combinations and in general are more “ingenious” in terms of content production.

The research presents the variety of communicative strategies used by Russian politicians in social networks.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Arnaudo, D.: Computational propaganda in Brazil: social bots during elections. Proj. Comput. Propag. 8, 1–39 (2017). http://blogs.oii.ox.ac.uk/politicalbots/wp-content/uploads/sites/89/2017/06/Comprop-Brazil-1.pdf. Accessed 14 May 2019

  2. Azmi, A., Sylvia, I., Mardhiah, D.: Discourse analysis of politicians’ social media posts. Messenger 10(2), 174–186 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bessi, A., Ferrara, E.: Social bots distort the 2016 US presidential election online discussion. First Monday 21(11) (2016), https://ssrn.com/abstract=2982233. Accessed 14 May 2019

  4. Bolgov, R., Chernov, I., Ivannikov, I., Katsy, D.: Battle in Twitter: comparative analysis of online political discourse (Cases of Macron, Trump, Putin, and Medvedev). In: Chugunov, A., Misnikov, Y., Roshchin, E., Trutnev, D. (eds.) EGOSE 2018. CCIS, vol. 947, pp. 374–383. Springer, Cham (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13283-5_28

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. Bolsover, G.: Computational propaganda in China: an alternative model of a widespread practice. Proj. Comput. Propag. 4 (2017). http://blogs.oii.ox.ac.uk/politicalbots/wp-content/uploads/sites/89/2017/06/Comprop-China.pdf. Accessed 14 May 2019

  6. Bundin, M., Martynov, A.: Use of social media and blogs by federal authorities in Russia: regulation and policy. In: Proceedings of the 17th International Digital Government Research Conference on Digital Government Research, pp. 8–11. ACM, NewYork (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Chan, M., Fassbender, K.: Evaluating public engagement for a consensus development conference. J. Palliat. Med. 21, 1–20 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2017.0390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Cmeciu, C., Cmeciu, D.: Web 2.0 communication and stakeholder engagement strategies: how Romanian public organizations use Facebook. Procedia - Soc. Behav. Sci. 143, 879–883 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Coleman, S., Moss, G.: Governing at a distance – politicians in the blogosphere. Inf. Polity 13(1–2), 7–20 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Conover, M., Ratkiewicz, J., Francisco, M., Gonçalves, B., Flammini, A., Menczer, F.: Political polarization on Twitter. In: Proceedings of the Fifth International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media. AAAI Press, Menlo Park (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Ekman, M., Widholm, A.: Political communication in an age of visual connectivity: exploring Instagram practices among Swedish politicians. North. Light.: Film Media Stud. Yearb. 15(1), 15–32 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Eriksen, E.O., Weigård, J.: Conceptualizing politics: strategic or communicative action? Scand. Polit. Stud. 20(3), 219–241 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Etling, B., Alexanyan, K., Kelly, J., Faris, R., Palfrey, J.G., Gasser, U.: Public discourse in the Russian blogosphere: mapping RuNet politics and mobilization. Berkman Center Research Publication (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Flynn, J.: Communicative power in Habermas’s theory of democracy. Eur. J. Polit. Theory 3(4), 433–454 (2004)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  15. FOM. News sources and media trust, 30 January 2019. https://fom.ru/SMI-i-internet/14170. Accessed 14 May 2019

  16. Froomkin, A.M.: Technologies for democracy. In: Shane, P. (ed.) Democracy Online, pp. 23–40. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2731312. Accessed 14 May 2019

  17. Habermas, J.: The theory of Communicative Action: Lifeworld and System: A Critique of Functionalist Reason. Beacon Press, Boston (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Hermans, L., Vergeer, M.: Personalization in e-campaigning: a cross-national comparison of personalization strategies used on candidate websites of 17 countries in EP elections 2009. New Media Soc. 15(1), 72–92 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Holiday, S., Lewis, M.J., LaBaugh, J.L.: Are you talking to me? The socio-political visual rhetoric of the Syrian presidency’s Instagram account. Southwest. Mass Commun. J. 30(2) (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Holtzhausen, D.: Strategic communication. The international encyclopedia of communication (2008). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405186407

  21. Howard, P.N., Bolsover, G., Kollanyi, B., Bradshaw, S., Neudert, L.-M.: Junk news and bots during the U.S. election: what were Michigan voters sharing over Twitter? Proj. Comput. Propag. 1 (2017). http://comprop.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/working-papers/junk-news-and-bots-during-the-u-s-election-what-were-michigan-voters-sharing-over-twitter/. Accessed 14 May 2019

  22. Jung, Y., Tay, A., Hong, T., Ho, J., Goh, Y.H.: Politician’s strategic impression management on Instagram. In: Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, pp. 2195–2201 (2017). https://doi.org/10.24251/hicss.2017.265

  23. Kelly, J., et al.: Mapping Russian Twitter. Berkman Center Research Publication 2012-3. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2028158. Accessed 14 May 2019

  24. Kingston, J.: Nationalism and the 2014 snap election: the abe conundrum. In: Pekkanen, R.J., Scheiner, E., Reed, S.R. (eds.) Japan Decides 2014: The Japanese general election, pp. 211–225. Palgrave Macmillan, London (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137552006_17

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  25. Klinger, U., Svensson, J.: The emergence of network media logic in political communication: a theoretical approach. New Media Soc. 17(8), 1241–1257 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Larsson, A.O., Kalsnes, B.: “Of course we are on Facebook”: use and non-use of social media among Swedish and Norwegian politicians. Eur. J. Commun. 29(6), 653–667 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Lilleker, D.G., Koc-Michalska, K., Schweitzer, E.J., Jacunski, M., Jackson, N., Vedel, T.: Informing, engaging, mobilizing or interacting: searching for a European model of web campaigning. Eur. J. Commun. 26(3), 195–213 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Lilleker, D.G., Koc-Michalska, K.: Online political communication strategies: MEPs, e-representation, and self-representation. J. Inf. Technol. Polit. 10(2), 190–207 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. MacNair, B.: An Introduction to Political Communication. Routledge, London (2011)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  30. Manheim, J.: Strategy in Information and Influence Campaigns: How Policy Advocates, Social Movements, Insurgent Groups, Corporations, Governments and Others Get What They Want. Routledge (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  31. Mattiello, E.: Reformulating political discourse: how politicians construct their identity in the Facebook era. In: XXVI AIA Conference Remediating, Rescripting, Remaking: Old and New Challenges in English Studies, Parma, pp. 12–14 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Mediascope. https://mediascope.net/data/. Accessed 14 May 2019

  33. Miller, J.: Russian PM’s Twitter hacked, posting “I resign”, BBC, https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28786683. Accessed 14 May 2019

  34. Nielsen, R.K., Vaccari, C.: Do people “like” politicians on Facebook? Not really. Large-scale direct candidate-to-voter online communication as an outlier phenomenon. Int. J. Commun. 7(24), 2333–2356 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  35. Nitschke, P., Donges, P.: Intentional and emergent strategies: analyzing the motivational and structural dynamics in online communications of political interest organizations. Public Relat. Inq. 7(3), 225–241 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Renz, B., Sullivan, J.: Making a connection in the provinces? Russia’s tweeting governors. East Eur. Polit. 29(2), 135–151 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Rodina, E., Dligach, D.: Dictator’s Instagram: personal and political narratives in a Chechen leader’s social network. Cauc. Surv. 1–15 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Rodríguez, J.L.: The interplay of greetings and promises. Pragmatics 22(1), 167–187 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Rogers, E., Dearing, J.: Agenda-setting research: where has it been, where is it going? Commun. Yearb. 11, 555–594 (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Schäfer, F., Evert, S., Heinrich, P.: Japan’s 2014 general election: political bots, right-wing internet activism and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe’s hidden nationalist agenda. Big Data 5(4), 294–309 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Schlæger, J., Jiang, M.: Official microblogging and social management by local governments in China. China Inf. 28(2), 189–213 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  42. Smyth, R., Sobolev, A., Soboleva, I.: A well-organized play: symbolic politics and the effect of the pro-Putin rallies. Probl. Post-Communism 60(2), 24–39 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Thamm, M., Bleier, A.: When politicians tweet: a study on the members of the German Federal Diet. (2013). https://arxiv.org/abs/1305.1734. Accessed 14 May 2019

  44. Toepfl, F.: Blogging for the sake of the president: the online diaries of Russian governors. Eur.-Asia Stud. 64(8), 1435–1459 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Tselikov, A.: The tightening web of Russian internet regulation. Berkman Center Research Publication 2014-15 (2014). https://ssrn.com/abstract=2527603. Accessed 14 May 2019

  46. VK API. https://vk.com/dev/methods. Accessed 14 May 2019

  47. VKFaces. https://vkfaces.com/stars/catalog/politicians. Accessed 14 May 2019

  48. VKontakte. https://vk.com/. Accessed 14 May 2019

  49. Wilde, P., Michailidou, A., Trenz, H.J.: Converging on euroscepticism: online polity contestation during European parliament elections. Eur. J. Polit. Res. 4(53), 766–783 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Williams, C.B., Gulati, G.J.J.: Social networks in political campaigns: Facebook and the congressional elections of 2006 and 2008. New Media Soc. 15(1), 52–71 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Woolley, S.C., Howard, P.N.: Automation, algorithms, and politics. Political communication, computational propaganda, and autonomous agent – Introduction. Int. J. Commun. 10, 4882–4890 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  52. Zasoursky, I.: Media and Power in Post-Soviet Russia. Routledge, NewYork (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  53. van Zoonen, L., Vis, F., Mihelj, S.: Performing citizenship on YouTube: activism, satire and online debate around the anti-Islam video Fitna. Crit. Discourse Stud. 7(4), 249–262 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by RFBR and EISR, project number 19-011-31651. We would like to thank our colleagues from the Center for Sociological and Internet Research of Saint Petersburg State University for guidance and support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Sociological and Internet Research, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Konstantin Platonov

  2. Laboratory for Research of Social-Economic and Political Processes of Modern Society, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Natalia Legostaeva

Authors
  1. Konstantin Platonov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Natalia Legostaeva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Konstantin Platonov .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. ITMO University, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Andrei Chugunov

  2. Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Igor Khodachek

  3. University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Yuri Misnikov

  4. ITMO University, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Dmitrii Trutnev

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Platonov, K., Legostaeva, N. (2020). Communicative Strategies of Russian Politicians on Social Networking Site Vkontakte. In: Chugunov, A., Khodachek, I., Misnikov, Y., Trutnev, D. (eds) Electronic Governance and Open Society: Challenges in Eurasia. EGOSE 2019. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1135. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39296-3_31

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39296-3_31

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-39295-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-39296-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation