Russian-speaking diaspora has spread across the world during the last century and plays a significant role in cultural and political life of the host countries. But its virtual presence remains heavily understudied; it is only Russian-speaking news websites that have received some scholarly attention. This study aims at estimating the globality of mass self-communication of Russian emigrants on Instagram in the context of virtual diaspora studies as a new form of imagined communities. Instagram communication of emigrants illustrates how the nature of mass self-communication influences the nature of ties between diaspora members. We confirm the global scale of ties that are developed by the Russian-speaking “InstaMigrants” by network analysis. We also show that such seemingly apolitical publics possess a potential for politicization of everyday life and migration experience in unconventional ways.

Original languageEnglish
Article number20563051211033809
Number of pages11
JournalSocial Media and Society
Volume7
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2021

    Research areas

  • critical public, global public, Instagram, migration, networked public, Russia, SPHERE, MIGRANTS, MEDIA, SOCIAL NETWORKS, COMMUNICATION

    Scopus subject areas

  • Cultural Studies
  • Communication
  • Computer Science Applications

ID: 85041644