TY - JOUR

T1 - Contributive action: socially mediated activities of Russians during the COVID-19 lockdown

AU - Bodrunova, Svetlana S.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2020.

PY - 2020/11/1

Y1 - 2020/11/1

N2 - In April to June 2020, Russia passed through a major COVID-19 lockdown which, as elsewhere, has led to a rise of online connectivity and co-practice. We argue that several online mass-participation activities by Russians during the lockdown have grown into examples of contributive action. As a type of connective action, contributive action is based upon individual motivation to partake in unorganized personal action. However, its focus moves from connection-and-action (mostly impossible during lockdowns) to online projects where user participation-by-contribution turns an activity into socially and/or politically meaningful action. In Russia, activities based on contributive action, such as virtual protests or online Victory Day celebrations, came in place of connective action at a time when offline collectivity was unavailable or minor. They also served as a way back to normality in relations between the society and the state, as well as a means for social coping with the crisis.

AB - In April to June 2020, Russia passed through a major COVID-19 lockdown which, as elsewhere, has led to a rise of online connectivity and co-practice. We argue that several online mass-participation activities by Russians during the lockdown have grown into examples of contributive action. As a type of connective action, contributive action is based upon individual motivation to partake in unorganized personal action. However, its focus moves from connection-and-action (mostly impossible during lockdowns) to online projects where user participation-by-contribution turns an activity into socially and/or politically meaningful action. In Russia, activities based on contributive action, such as virtual protests or online Victory Day celebrations, came in place of connective action at a time when offline collectivity was unavailable or minor. They also served as a way back to normality in relations between the society and the state, as well as a means for social coping with the crisis.

KW - connective action

KW - contributive action

KW - COVID-19

KW - lockdown

KW - Russia

KW - social media

UR - https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1329878X20953536

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092529872&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/c4db3402-ae4b-3a72-bab9-504932eb3149/

U2 - 10.1177/1329878X20953536

DO - 10.1177/1329878X20953536

M3 - Article

VL - 177

SP - 139

EP - 143

JO - Media International Australia

JF - Media International Australia

SN - 1329-878X

IS - 1

ER -