Mass Media in the Post-Soviet World: Market Forces, State Actors, and Political Manipulation in the Informational Environment after Communism (Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society)

This collection covers the major trends of the media environment of the post-Communist world and their recent development, with special focus on Russia and the post-Soviet space. The term "media environment" covers not just traditional print and electronic media, but new media as well, and ranges from the political to entertainment and various artistic spheres. What role do market forces play in the process of media democratization, and how do state structures regulate, suppress, or use capitalism toward their own gain? What degree of informational pluralism has been achieved in the newly independent republics? What are the prospects for transparency and the participation of civil society in Russian and Eurasian media? To what degree do trends in post-Communist media reflect global trends? Is there a worldwide convergence with regard to both media formats and political messaging? Western observers usually pay their keenest attention to the role of media in Russia and Eurasia during national elections. While this is a valid focus, the present volume, with contributions by Luca Anceschi, Jonathan Becker, Lee B. Becker, Michael Cecire, Marta Dyczok, Nicola Ying Fry, Navbahor Imamova, Azamat Junisbai, Barbara Junisbai, Kornely Kakachia, Maria Lipman, Oleg Manaev, Marintha Miles, Olena Nikolayenko, Sarah Oates, Tamara Pataraia, Elisabeth Schimpfossl, Abdulfattoh Shafiev, Jack Snyder, Tudor Vlad, and Ilya Yablokov, aims at understanding the deeper overall media philosophies that characterize post-Soviet media systems and environments, and the type of identity formation that they are promoting. Table of Contents Introduction: Mass Media in the Post-Soviet World I. National Trends Politics of International Media Rankings Russia’s Nongovernmental Media under Assault Russia and the New Authoritarians Ukraine’s Media in the Context of Global Cultural Convergence Media in Post-Soviet Belarus: Between Democratization and Reinforcing Authoritarianism Mass Media Consumption in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan: The View from Below Networked Apathy: Georgian Party Politics and the Role of Social Media II. Television Coercion or Conformism? Censorship and Self-Censorship among Russian Media Personalities and Reporters in the 2010s The "Russian Idea" on the Small Screen: Staging National Identity on Russia’s TV Peter the Great, Statism, and Axiological Continuity in Contemporary Russian Television In Search of Kazakhness: The Televisual Landscape and Screening of Nation in Kazakhstan Small Screen Nation-Building: Astana—My Love III. Social Media Glasnost 2.0 The Persistence of Media Control under Consolidated Authoritarianism: Containing Kazakhstan’s Digital Media Friends, Foes, and Facebook: Blocking the Internet in Tajikistan Youth Media Consumption and Perceptions of Electoral Integrity in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Social Media and Online Public Debate in Central Asia: A Journalist’s Perspective This collection covers the major trends of the media environment of the post-Communist world and their recent development, with special focus on Russia and the post-Soviet space. The term ?media environment? covers not just traditional print and electronic media, but new media as well, and ranges from the political to entertainment and various artistic spheres. 0What role do market forces play in the process of media democratization, and how do state structures regulate, suppress, or use capitalism toward their own gain? What degree of informational pluralism has been achieved in the newly independent republics? What are the prospects for transparency and the participation of civil society in Russian and Eurasian media? To what degree do trends in post-Communist media reflect global trends? Is there a worldwide convergence with regard to both media formats and political messaging? 0Western observers usually pay their keenest attention to the role of media in Russia and Eurasia during national elections. While this is a valid focus, the present volume aims at understanding the deeper overall ?media philosophies? that characterize post-Soviet media systems and environments, and the type of identity formation that they are promoting