Russian Culture of Conspiracy
9 hrs. 5 min.
Language
Russian
Author
Ilya Yablokov
Author
Ilya Yablokov
Narrator
Vadim Chernobel'sky
Narrator
Vadim Chernobel'sky
Description
"Show everything that’s hidden!", "The truth is somewhere nearby", "If you’re not paranoid, it doesn’t mean you’re not being watched"… How often do we hear these phrases that have become slogans of our time? Bookshelves are filled with publications about “enemies of Russia.” TV programs talk about intrigues of foreign special services: now even the Chinese coronavirus turns out to be an invention by Americans! And the outlet Meduza, as some commentators on Russian Facebook believe, works for the FSB!
Politicians and opposition figures alike believe that world politics is made by the all-powerful Rothschild and Rockefeller clans’ hands, or by Kremlin hardliners, or the U.S. State Department. And ordinary Russians are convinced that nothing happens just like that: everything is somebody’s order, somebody’s dirty PR, and definitely somebody’s evil intent.
In her book, historian, media expert, and University of Leeds lecturer Ilya Yablokov shows that belief in conspiracy theories is not necessarily a sign of paranoid thinking. It’s not only a natural reaction of a modern person to a complex world — a way through which an ordinary person, who has no influence on the events around them, learns about the world. It’s also a powerful political tool actively used by Russian elites for their purposes, and, as the book demonstrates, one that has unbelievably reshaped the country in the post-Soviet period.
Politicians and opposition figures alike believe that world politics is made by the all-powerful Rothschild and Rockefeller clans’ hands, or by Kremlin hardliners, or the U.S. State Department. And ordinary Russians are convinced that nothing happens just like that: everything is somebody’s order, somebody’s dirty PR, and definitely somebody’s evil intent.
In her book, historian, media expert, and University of Leeds lecturer Ilya Yablokov shows that belief in conspiracy theories is not necessarily a sign of paranoid thinking. It’s not only a natural reaction of a modern person to a complex world — a way through which an ordinary person, who has no influence on the events around them, learns about the world. It’s also a powerful political tool actively used by Russian elites for their purposes, and, as the book demonstrates, one that has unbelievably reshaped the country in the post-Soviet period.
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