ISSN 2078-9823 (Print), ISSN 2587-7879 (Online)

DOI: 10.24412/2078-9823.068.024.202404.368-384

УДК 1:32:004.738.5(470+571)(476)

Igor V. Bakhlov1, Olga V. Bakhlova2

1, 2 National Research Ogarev Mordovia State University (Saransk, Russia)

1 e-mail: bahlov@mail.ru

2 e-mail: olga.bahlova@mail.ru

 

The Value Agenda of Internet Communities in Support of Russian-Belarusian Integration (using the example of the VKontakte social network)

 

Abstract

Introduction. The actualization of patriotic education in the Union State of Belarus and Russia in the current situation encourages the improvement of strategies and tools for socio-political and integration development. The Union’s agenda now includes many axiological components stemming from the cultural and civilizational community of the participating countries. In the context of the mediatization of social and political communications, it is important to take into account various ways and channels of forming public opinion on fundamental issues of the past, present and future, their meaning and significance for the government and the population. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of the content of the value agenda of Internet communities that position themselves as supporters of the unity of Russia and Belarus.

Materials and Methods. The research is based on the axiological approach and the theory of  “public values”. The main methods are qualitative and discourse analysis of documents, comparison, and case study. The empirical base was primarily made up of publications (posts) posted in the “pro-integration” communities of the VKontakte social network.

Results. The pool of Internet communities in support of Russian-Belarusian integration has been specified, comparison parameters and key components of their value agenda have been determined. The main thematic plots in the axiological dimension, represented by these communities, are shown, the interpretations of value categories, including patriotism, are explained. The connection of the transmitted meanings and images with internal and external factors and events is emphasized. The key points of intersection of the value agenda of the Internet communities and official documents of the participating countries in the studied area are identified, and at the same time there is a critical subtext regarding power in a number of publications.

Discussion and Conclusion. Similar characteristics of the content of the value agenda of the analyzed Internet communities are references to the conservative platform, the categories “traditional values”, “historical memory”, “centuries-old history”, “fraternal unity”, “cultural heritage”. The commonality of challenges, tasks, and the civilizational model of Russia and Belarus is emphasized. Russian Russians and the trinity of Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians, as well as on the ways and likely results of integration interaction, do not completely coincide. As well as the perception of the essence and purpose of the Union State. But the axiological dimension of Russian-Belarusian integration is quite clearly understood. The promoted agendas are not holistic, they often only schematically, superficially indicate individual values that are attractive to members of the community. However, the discovered features and their consideration in real internal and integration practices can contribute to the correction of the mechanisms of the policy of patriotic education in the Union State.

Keywords: axiological dimension, historical memory, public support for Russian-Belarusian integration, patriotism, patriotic education, pro-integration Internet communities, traditional values, Union State of Belarus and Russia, union construction.

For citation: Bakhlova O. V., Bakhlov I. V. The value agenda of Internet communities in support of Russian-Belarusian integration (using the example of the VKontakte social network). Gumanitarian: aktual’nye problemy gumanitarnoi nauki i obrazovaniia = Russian Journal of the Humanities. 2024; 24(4): 368–384. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.24412/2078-9823.068.024.202404.368-384.

Funding. This work was financially supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant number 23-28-00371 (https://rscf.ru/project/23-28-00371/).

 

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