The Internet and amateur television in Russia
Keywords:
amatööritelevisio, internetAbstract
This article examines the phenomenon of amateur television and online fan communities in the
Russian context. Practices of watching television have changed with the rise of the Internet: the
boundaries between media producers and consumers have blurred, media content is shared from one
device to another and mobile technology creates an important framework for daily communication.
Young media users are particularly active in this new, post=broadcast media environment which is
strongly defined by media convergence. As an example of this phenomenon, we analyse an online
amateur drama series, Stervochki, produced by young Russian Internet users from the provincial town
of Pervoural’sk. The series depicts young female criminals and their striving for a better life. The
plotline and the characters rely on post-feminist gender representations and glamour consumption,
and it has attained cult status among the young online audience. The series’ fan base is a multiplatform online community using Instagram, Twitter and the Russian social media platform VKontakte to share their opinions and advice on how to develop the series further. Through their participation in the community, the fans simultaneously define their own viewership and redefine the existing quality categories of televisual expression in contemporary Russia. Our example demonstrates how the Internet together with mobile technology makes young Russians into active agents in the postbroadcast media environment. The article aims to shed light on Russian society from the perspective of cultural globalisation and new phenomena of popular culture.
