In the studies of contemporary Russian media system European researchers are accustomed to look at the subject through the eyes of the country’s pro-Western liberal opposition. This state of affairs often leads to oversimplifications, one-sided explanatory models and inability to see Russian media landscape in its political diversity and ideological complexity. In order to get a fuller appreciation of Russia’s political and social developments in the 2010’s we suggest taking a closer look at Russian ‘patriotic’ online media and blogosphere which have been successful in shaping public opinion among Russian Internet users throughout the decade.

According to dominating explanatory narrative, Russian media are divided into two main groups depending on their political orientation. The first one embraces the mainstream ‘patriotic’ press which indisputably supports the Kremlin in all the issues of domestic and international politics. And the second one is composed of liberal media outlets which fiercely criticize the government, pledge for democratic values and propagate the “European choice” for Russia. Whereas the first group dominates traditional media which are still the main source of information for older generations (‘party of TV’), the second one enjoys an ideological hegemony among younger ‘online generations’ (‘party of Internet’).

In reality, the picture is much more complex. The 2010’s have seen the rise of ‘patriotic’ online media and top bloggers as well as their impact on current political agenda, not always in favor of the Kremlin. For instance, they played a significant role in fueling protests against the ruling party after the Duma election in December 2011, but, paradoxically, helped Vladimir Putin win the presidential election without major falsifications in March 2012. United in their criticism towards the West and Russian liberals, ‘patriotic’ media might conduct heated debates over a wide range of political, economical, cultural and historical issues. Attitude to Soviet and tsarist past, Orthodox Church, the role of the president Vladimir Putin, economical and social policy, Ukrainian crisis, cooperation with the United States under Donald Trump – these are the main subjects of interesting discussions in the ‘patrioic’ segment of ‘Runet’. These discussions make Russian media landscape more diverse and contradictory and play a significant role in establishing critical journalistic culture.