Online memory of the Soviet past: social networks as alternative arenas for debates about USSR

Abstract

Thе article considers how social networks produce an online memory of the Soviet past. Social networks are described as arenas that are open and accessible to many actors. These actors operate in a freer discursive field, not limited in their activity by dominant narratives about the past. It has been noted that social media can be used by citizens as a means of discussing the shared past and can act as a counter to elite discourse.
In order to understand how the discussion of the Soviet past is structured in social media, a qualitative content analysis of three online group records and comments on them was conducted. The goal was to examine the main themes and arguments, as well as the characteristics of the discussion that emerged. Three popular social networks in Russia were chosen: Vkontakte, Instagram and Facebook. Three records with the most generalizing topic, devoted to the Soviet past, were selected.
It was shown that during the process of constructing new meanings and creating interpretations, the actors of online memory rely both on the official discourse of the political elite about the Soviet past and the Russian present and on their subjective biographies and personal experiences. At the same time, social networks provide opportunities for the creation of alternative and counternarratives. The conclusion is made about the «absorptive» properties of the memory of the Soviet past, since actors are able to build into it any current events, including the Covid-19 pandemic.