My research project investigates top-down strategies—a series of measures initiated by President Vladimir Putin and implemented by the state apparatus—in which Russia’s literary heritage was utilized both as an instrument for and a source of national identity formation during 2011–2018, a period of social upheaval and crisis in Russian society. In response to the societal crisis, the Russian state implemented various top-down strategies, utilizing Russian culture and historical memory as key instruments for shaping national identity, maintaining the status quo, and legitimizing its political agenda. In contrast to many previous studies on this topic, which primarily analyze these policies through static, textual manifestations, this dissertation adopts an alternative and more comprehensive approach: it explores the nation-building process together with its dynamic, empirical expressions. To examine these textual and empirical strategies, the study applies a multidisciplinary theoretical framework and adopts a macro-analytical perspective grounded in neo-Durkheimian cultural sociology and key concepts such as A. Smith’s “ethno-symbolism,” B. Anderson’s “imagined communities,” M. Weber’s notion of “charisma,” J. Alexander’s theory of “ritualized social performances,” and E. Katz and D. Dayan’s “media events.”
The central argument is structured around five case studies that examine, among other things, the textual and “imagined” representation of Russian identity, with an emphasis on the interaction between school education and the literary canon; the symbolic representation of this national identity in the media, including television and film; and its empirical manifestations, such as physical and personal embodiment, performances, and media-ritualized expressions. In addition, the analysis of each case study encompasses the reactions of the Russian cultural community and the reception of these top-down initiatives in the media. My research provides fresh insights into how identity politics functions as an interactive process that not only involves Putin and state structures but also relies on the participation of various other actors, institutions, and broader societal events. Furthermore, my approach elucidates the narratives that accompanied the nation-building process and provides insights into the societal reactions triggered by Putin’s initiatives, in particular the nationalist sentiments they stirred among members of the literary community and how such sentiments were portrayed by both state and independent media.