"Russian Propaganda and Subjectivity Positions Following the 2022 Escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War"

Abstract

This dissertation explores the current Russian propaganda and the subjectivities adopted by Russian citizens in response. The aim is to address two main questions: (a) Why and how does Russian propaganda appear to be particularly effective in indoctrinating Russian citizens living in Russia? (b) What are the impacts of Russian propaganda on the subjectivity of Russians living in Russia and how these impacts are manifested? The theoretical approach that informs the development of the dissertation is critical discursive psychology (CDP), applied in combination with encoding and decoding positions. Interpretative repertoires, intertextuality and assumptions, post-truth and fake news, and lived ideology are the key concepts that further inform the theoretical framework. I develop the steps of analysis, informed by a variety of literary sources and in accordance with the needs of this dissertation. I provide a relevant theory-driven historiography and analyse Putin’s speeches through the CDP tools of analysis. The subject positions are theorized according to the encoding and decoding positions with further, more nuanced, subcategorization. The goal of this dissertation is to examine how the different subjectivities are produced and enacted in response to the state propaganda. I aim to contribute further to the literature discussing the influence of propaganda by providing a more nuanced understanding of the subjectivities.