Youth Groups and Military Campaigns: The Russian Effort to Popularize the Annexation of Crimea

To date there has been very little analysis done on Network, the Russian pro-Putin youth group (Сеть). Articles which do mention this group, generally focus on their material events and products. Yet Nework has a major online presence. This research uses this largely untapped resource to provide insights into Russian propaganda. The thesis shows how Network was used to popularize the annexation of Crimea with Russian young people and to introduce them to values and ways of thinking that would support the Putin administration. The main argument is that Network used the annexation to create a new image of Putin in an effort to enhance the popularity of the Putin administration among Russian young people and in particular educated and artistic youth traditionally opposed to conservative and authoritarian-leaning government. The challenge was to rebrand Putin for a new purpose. He needed to become “cooler” in order to appeal to the youth that Network targeted, but at the same time his political agenda had to remain unchanged. Network attempted to do so by riding the wave of patriotism sparked by the annexation of Crimea. The annexation was portrayed as a step in the right direction, that of reclaiming Russia’s historic greatness, the periods when it was respected by the world and had ample influence on its neighbors. Putin’s image was associated with this success. To analyze the rhetoric and visual propaganda Network presented online, translated excerpts from the group’s website and images from the group’s social media accounts are shown, with symbolism and captions identified. The visual propaganda element is incredibly important. Still images and videos are known to cement messages in their audience’s heads since they can be easily recalled and create a feeling of having witnessed an event. These pieces of rhetoric and visual propaganda are then put in context by comparing them with earlier propaganda efforts. This propaganda effort is rich in implications for those trying to understand the intentions of pro-Putin supporters and the needs of the administration itself. Upticks in propaganda production, especially in regards to popularizing aggression in certain areas or stress on the need to protect ethnic Russians (or even Russian-speakers) outside of Russia, can indicate intentions to act on those areas in the future. The “reunification” of Crimea with the Russian Federation and effort to milk its success as much as possible demonstrate this possibility. It also shows how other facets of Putin’s political agenda may come to be accepted, by being borne along on the tide of exhilaration caused by “regaining” lost territory, and therefore former regional hegemony.Bachelor of Art