November 27th, 2025

My professor was looking forward to this lecture because it is all about Russian culture in the 21st century.

The Russian constitution allowed for two consecutive presidential terms, so this meant that Putin had to go. In 2008, Dmitry Medvedev was elected as president, people were doubtful but hoped he would be more liberal. Many political cartoons were published about Putin hiding under Medvedev’s coat. In 2011, Putin announced he was running for president agin and people were shocked, thats not allowed! But the law was interpreted differently. Allegations of fraud and corruption came out, like how apparently students in college residency were made to vote and had to show they voted for Putin or risk expulsion. Fraud was widespread.

Protest rallies occurred from 2011-2013 but they were not too threatening. Cynicism for the Putin-Medvedev regime/partnership emerged, attitudes were changing. She then showed us that song “A Man Like Putin” and asked us “how does it look?” Students stated: like propaganda; terrifying; satirical according to the west. The song apparently became part of the Putin cult. Westerners dismissed Russians as stupid, not understanding the point of the song. The business major claimed that the Russian authorities do not know what satire was and my professor pushed back that they actually do.

Putin’s version of Russia is purposefully nationalistic. First there is the emphasis on patriotism. He created a state program for patriotic education for citizens. Putin is suspicious of people doing to Soros schools. History textbooks were changed, instead of teacher having a choice of around 5 books, they now only have one to educate on. Next is the promotion of orthodoxy. Christ the saviour church is a huge symbol. The church and state work very closely. A new holiday was made: national unity day, November 4th. This day celebrates the expulsion of Poles from Moscow in 1612, this was the Russians fighting back against Poland and Lithuania. Lastly, WWII is the most important for the Russian identity. It is a part of Soviet mythology, but also for Putin. Russians didn’t have a history to be proud of, so this pride over a Russian victory was not manufactured by Putin, but it was harnessed due to the west treating Russia like a second-rate country.

The democratic opposition portrayed Russia as forcing its people to love the country. Liberals thought worship over victor and “greatness of Russia” was imposed on the population.

She then told us about the Immortal Regiment Action. People walk in a sort of parade with picture of their relatives that fought in the war. The first demonstration took place in Tomsk on May 9, 2012. Around 6000 people attended, it was not organized by the government. In 2013, 120 cities and towns held similar events. There is also the Online People’s Chronicle, which shares family stories. This was not done by the government, it was an act of memory for loved ones. The sentiment was at the grassroots, the government just used it. There was an Immortal Regiment held in Moscow in 2015.

Next we got into the problem with gender. First we went over the Women of Russia Party, which lasted from 1993-99. The Soviet quota of having 30% of deputies be women was essentially thrown out post-1991, that 30% drastically fell. So this new Party advocated women’s issues but disappeared after 1999. The first gender study centre opened in 1997 these types of centres were very rare and their influence was not strong. Students started reading literature, state propaganda and journalists portrayed these centres as western imports. There is also an issue with the word “gender” as it doesn’t exist in Russian, so when it was used they had to say it the English way which meant it felt even more like foreign interference. This actually blew my mind.

In 2006 a Moscow Pride parade was prohibited by the Mayor. Moscow Pride, the organization itself was hesitant to even throw the parade in the first place. Conservative attitudes were harnessed. LGBT people were visible in Russian society but were portrayed as demeaning caricatures. Organizers were doubtful of having a parade as parades were an American concept. In Russia, parades were only for the military. Then there was the election crisis of 2012 and Putin’s fight against “gay propaganda.” This propaganda law was because of a religious foundation and the “protection” of children. He used gays to fight against protests that were happening. We do not know if he actually believes that “gay propaganda” exists or just used it to consolidate his power.

Putin made alliances based on so-called traditional values, this is when that particular BRICS forum came up. The BRICS forum is not an official piece of the organization, it is just a grassroots thing. LGBT existence is called the “Ebola from Brussels.” A student in my class admitted he didn’t know what BRICS was and found it weird as all the countries in the acronym do not get along, mainly India and China. My professor said BRICS has a different agenda: anti-American unity. I wanted to pipe up and say that even EU countries have issues with each other and yet they are still part of the union.

We ended the class with the street art group “Voina” and their famous actions. We were first shown a 60 Minutes video about Pussy Riot. I didn’t write anything about it except “this shit sucks,” I remember the video talked about the arrests of Pussy Riot because of what they did in the church. It also showed how western artists, including South Park, called for the freeing of Pussy Riot.

The first action was in February 2008 called “F* for the Heir Puppy Bear” which was making fun of Medvedev; 5 bears had sex in a biology museum. The second action was in May 2008 called “The Humiliation of a Cop in His House” where the group pretended to be high schoolers and take portraits of Putin and another guy from Police stations. The Police didn’t do anything because they thought these were children so it was embarrassing. The third action was in September and was called “Memory of the Decembrists,” where hey entered a store and pretended to hang 5 people. The last action was in June 2010 called “A Cock Captured by the FSB” where a penis was drawn on a drawbridge that faced the FSB building.

Students in my class claimed that the arrests of Pussy Riot was a return to the Soviet-era. There is a gap in sentiment, Soros grant people thought that the arrests were bad but grandmas (babushki) thought it was deserved. The business major asked “these women are considered the leaders of feminism?” My professor answered that Nadia is a very smart girl. I think these demonstrations were stupid and only appealed to people in the west. They’re really weren’t convincing anyone at home.

The last slide was of Alexei Navalny but we didn’t get to talk about him, not even in the next lecture. There was also no information on the slide except his name and both the birth and death dates. It was probably for the best. If you want to say anything about him please do!