Untitled - socium.ge
Untitled - socium.ge Untitled - socium.ge
The Russian network society 95in state governance and education, and an effective dialogue between thepowers-that-be and the citizen. As a result, the level of computerization inRussian secondary schools should significantly increase.Paradoxically, the Internet played an integrating role in the Russian context,providing simultaneous news coverage for the Russian elite (or for those withaccess) nationwide. In the decentralized Russian media system, where newspapershave increasingly become local and TV has become commerciallyoriented, the Internet took on the role of a political communicator whichactively constructed the Russian “integrated information space.” For the politicalelite, increased opportunities for manipulating information opened up, atleast for a period, new possibilities to manage public opinion. And, here again,we face the well-known conflict between technology and its social uses highlightedby Williams (1974) and Winston (1998). What is important in today’sRussia is the contradiction between the novelty of Internet communication andthe structures emerging from it and the uses widely exercised by Russianpoliticians. In contrast to the old uses of the Internet as a political medium,Runet, as a leisure activity, demonstrates diverse models of individual innovativebehavior significant in the network structure of postmodern societies.One of the reasons why Russians have taken to the Internet so enthusiasticallymight be explained by its potential to increase the scope of personalliberation and the possibilities for individual choice, which have traditionallybeen very limited in Russian society. The significance of the Internet in thepersonal life of Russians has not been studied in depth as yet, but it is clearthat Runet attracts a great number of users who spend their leisure time online.It has already been shown by many studies that Russians use the Internet fore-mail and also for the world’s websites, although most users prefer Russiancontent in the Russian language. According to the statistics of Rambler, one ofthe largest Russian portals, the “Top Twenty” of the most popular Russianlanguage sites includes 3Dnews.ru, a webzine on computers, Anekdot.ru, ajoke site, Aport.ru, a search engine, Auto.ru, a webzine on cars, andBankreferatov.ru, a site containing educational materials. Among the othermost popular services are online newspapers, free e-mail services, and theRussian tax authority.It is well known that Russians have more sites devoted to humor on theInternet than any other nation, and this is online proof of the fact that, for manyRussians, humor is a traditional means of lightening life burdens. Onlinehumor and satirical sites have emerged as a domain for a new subculture,Russian online folklore. Compared to traditional folklore, online satire existsas an interactive, constantly updated, and limitlessly rich segment of Runet,providing users with a number of facts describing present Russian realities(Verner, 2003).Current Runet subcultures vary from popular anecdotes and jokes sites to
96 Elena Vartanovaacademic or literary magazines read by a few hi-brow intellectuals. Withimprovements in living standards, at least among those of the Runet audience,content preferences have begun to change. Polls have illustrated the shift ofinterest from sites devoted to light entertainment to sites containing informationon information technology, science, practical economics, and cars. As aliving organism, Runet constantly produces new myths and heroes. A modestflash cartoon, transmitting stories about Masyanya, an optimistic, friendly, butunlucky girl from St Petersburg, has become extremely popular since itreflects the philosophy of many Russians who have failed to achieve financialsuccess but retain their optimistic attitude to life. More convincing than manyoff-line characters, Masyanya has turned into a popular image for TV newsand cartoons, and an object of conversations and chats.The language of Runet has become a particularly crucial area for presentRussian cultural identity. Postmodernist experiments with Cyrillic and Latincharacters, Russian and English words, and the integration of verbal and nonverbalforms of expression, have produced a new Internet language that haslexically reflected the new virtual reality. In addition, an innovative use of theRussian language by the Russian Internet community, migrating from site tosite, has become the sign of a constant renewal and reconstruction of communicationand its substance. The language of the Russian Internet is an area thathelps users to quit the hierarchical world for a virtual network society.CONCLUSIONSParadoxically, in Russia, a country still surviving economic crisis, the networksociety has got a comparatively good foundation. There exists a workingsystem of satellite connections, considerable intellectual potential forresearchers, engineers, and designers of software programs, as well as thenecessary technological hardware. Telecommunications, information services,and content markets are rapidly developing, and the number of computers inoffices and households is increasing. The level of education is still high, atleast in administrative and industrial centers. Students, schoolchildren, andactive professionals stand at the core of the new media universe. Private business,especially banking and service companies, is an active force in using andpromoting information and communication technology. Even state agencies, atleast formally, promote openness to e-democracy and e-governance, thusenforcing the use of the Internet in executive and legislative processes andlaying down the foundations for a new political infrastructure of e-Russia.On the other hand, in the Russian context, there exists an obvious lack of a“network culture,” a specific type of interrelation between various socialagents that provides a society with a new logic of economic and social inter-
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96 Elena Vartanovaacademic or literary magazines read by a few hi-brow intellectuals. Withimprovements in living standards, at least among those of the Runet audience,content preferences have begun to chan<strong>ge</strong>. Polls have illustrated the shift ofinterest from sites devoted to light entertainment to sites containing informationon information technology, science, practical economics, and cars. As aliving organism, Runet constantly produces new myths and heroes. A modestflash cartoon, transmitting stories about Masyanya, an optimistic, friendly, butunlucky girl from St Petersburg, has become extremely popular since itreflects the philosophy of many Russians who have failed to achieve financialsuccess but retain their optimistic attitude to life. More convincing than manyoff-line characters, Masyanya has turned into a popular ima<strong>ge</strong> for TV newsand cartoons, and an object of conversations and chats.The langua<strong>ge</strong> of Runet has become a particularly crucial area for presentRussian cultural identity. Postmodernist experiments with Cyrillic and Latincharacters, Russian and English words, and the integration of verbal and nonverbalforms of expression, have produced a new Internet langua<strong>ge</strong> that haslexically reflected the new virtual reality. In addition, an innovative use of theRussian langua<strong>ge</strong> by the Russian Internet community, migrating from site tosite, has become the sign of a constant renewal and reconstruction of communicationand its substance. The langua<strong>ge</strong> of the Russian Internet is an area thathelps users to quit the hierarchical world for a virtual network society.CONCLUSIONSParadoxically, in Russia, a country still surviving economic crisis, the networksociety has got a comparatively good foundation. There exists a workingsystem of satellite connections, considerable intellectual potential forresearchers, engineers, and designers of software programs, as well as thenecessary technological hardware. Telecommunications, information services,and content markets are rapidly developing, and the number of computers inoffices and households is increasing. The level of education is still high, atleast in administrative and industrial centers. Students, schoolchildren, andactive professionals stand at the core of the new media universe. Private business,especially banking and service companies, is an active force in using andpromoting information and communication technology. Even state a<strong>ge</strong>ncies, atleast formally, promote openness to e-democracy and e-governance, thusenforcing the use of the Internet in executive and legislative processes andlaying down the foundations for a new political infrastructure of e-Russia.On the other hand, in the Russian context, there exists an obvious lack of a“network culture,” a specific type of interrelation between various sociala<strong>ge</strong>nts that provides a society with a new logic of economic and social inter-
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