Floriana Fossato has studied Russian literature, politics and society in Italy, Moscow and at University College London. She lived and worked in Russia for more than a decade since 1991. Fossato was a research associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University for the project The Web That Failed: How opposition politics and independent initiatives are failing on the Internet in Russia (published in September 2008). Her earlier work has focused on television. From 2009 onwards she will be involved in a EU funded project on Media in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Her work appeared in Les Cahiers Russie, CERI - Sciences Po, Paris, Current History and Pro et Contra among others.
The Russian Internet operates as a device to spread and share information; my research indicates that this sharing process takes place largely among closed clusters of like-minded users who are seldom able or willing to cooperate. I argue that Russian Internet users are in tune with the majority of the Russian population and the Internet has assumed the role of an adaptation tool, enabling users / citizens to adapt to a new political reality that they see outside the reach of their realistic personal or collective influence. My argument rests on the insightful points of view expressed by several Russian scholars and on the results of my recent research on the political influence and practices of the Russian Internet. Far from making judgemental conclusions vis-à-vis different scholarly approaches to Internet studies, this contribution intends to serve as a call for more discussion research on the different aspects of Internet use.
Language of contribution: English
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