Network Discourse of Patriotic Online Communities in Modern Russia: Problematic Field and Axiological Modes

Online communities in social networks have become a vital tool for constructing the value sphere in the last decade. The study presents a study of the problematic content field of the popular patriotic communities “Donetsk / Lugansk / Novorossiya”, “Nikolai Starikov”, “History: Russia and the World” in the aspect of their axiological modes. Publications were selected for each community by continuously uploading data for February 2021, 2022, and 2024, which were processed using the Conceptoscope analytical complex; contextual analysis was performed on keywords, as well as graph-based analysis. The study showed that the problem field of communities consists of several blocks: 1) historical meta-narrative, 2) Russia - the West 3) Ukraine, SMO 4) internal policy of the Russian Federation 5) natural beauty of Russia. The authors conclude that since February 2022, the problematic field of the analyzed communities’ content has been significantly expanded due to the topic of a Special Military Operation (hereinafter referred to as SMO), which is interpreted as an act of protecting the country. The need for consolidation and mobilization of Russian society is actualized; a positive attitude towards SMO becomes a criterion for identifying patriotic forces. In the February 2024 content, the structure of the problem field remains, but the rhetoric of Western double standards is intensifying, the idea of a multipolar world and a new architecture of international relations is being pedaled, as well as the discourse of glorification, patriotism and traditional values is progressing, and the idea of cleansing Russia from internal enemies is gaining momentum. The problem field of the communities is based on the values of a common historical memory, the idea of the sovereignty of the Russian state, the uniqueness of Russian civilization, the consolidation of the Russian world, the enduring nature of traditional values, the condemnation of the axiological foundations of the Western world, the principles of its organization. The successful production and promotion of patriotic content of the analyzed thematic online communities is determined by using an integrated approach combining historical narrative and current events, analytical articles and emotionally saturated materials. It is this approach that makes it possible to give positive axiological modes to patriotism and make it one of the leading factors of socio-political life.