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Crossing the Boundary into the Russian “Imagined Community?” “Language”, “Culture” and “Religion” in Russian Media Discourse on the Integration of Immigrants Christine Myrdal Lukash Dissertation for the Degree of PhD Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages University of Oslo March, 2019 Supervised by Professor Pål Kolstø (University of Oslo) and Associate Professor Andreja Vezovnik (University of Ljubljana) II Notes on Transliteration I have mainly relied on the Library of Congress Russian Romanization table, which can be accessed from https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/russian.pdf I have chosen not to transcribe hard sign. I have transcribed soft sign, except for names that are commonly transcribed without it, such as “Eltsin.” I transcribe “ё” as “e”. With regard to names of places or indigenous peoples, I have transcribed these in the way they commonly appear in English language sources, for example “Biryulyovo,” instead of “Biriulёvo.” III List of Abbreviations CPRF Communist Party of the Russian Federation DPNI Movement against Illegal Immigration FADN Federal Agency for Nationality Affairs FMS Federal Migration Service KP Komsomol’skaia Pravda LDPR Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party MK Moskovskii Komsomolets NEORUSS Nation-Building and Nationalism in Today’s Russia RG Rossiiskaia Gazeta ROC Russian Orthodox Church Rosstat Russian Federal State Statistics Service RSFSR Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic SPCH President’s Council on the Development of Civic Society and Human Rights IV © Christine Myrdal Lukash 2019 Crossing the Boundary into the Russian “Imagined Community?” Language, Culture and Religion in Russian Media Discourse on the Integration of Immigrants. Christine Myrdal Lukash http://www.duo.uio.no/ Print: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo V Abstract The thesis studies how Russian national identity is negotiated in a hitherto little-explored segment of Russian public discourse: how the Russian “imagined community” is represented in print media discourse on the integration of immigrants. Second, I ask to what extent the images produced in the media correspond with the images of the Russian community conveyed in presidential discourse in the period 2000 up to 2015. I adopt a discourse-based perspective on Norwegian anthropologist Fredrik Barth’s idea of how group identities are maintained and reproduced as a result of perceptions of a boundary between them. I approach the research questions by investigating how the three diacritical markers “language”, “culture” and “religion” function as boundaries of the Russian “imagined community.” The study shows how the three diacritical markers contribute to produce a variety of images of the Russian community. Yet, the most dominant image is characterized by internal uniformity and a culture that can be expanded to include immigrants. VI Acknowledgements I am deeply grateful to my supervisor, Professor Pål Kolstø at the University of Oslo, for his patience and thought-provoking comments throughout the long process of writing this thesis, not to mention my BA and MA theses. I also express my gratitude to my co-supervisor, Associate Professor Andreja Vezovnik at the University of Ljubljana, for advising me on discourse theory and discourse analysis. I am also sincerely grateful to Professor Vera Tolz, at the University of Manchester, who served as a discussant for my mid-term review. I also wish to thank my committee members Eleanor Knott and Peter Rutland for their constructive comments on the first version of my thesis. My special thanks go to Professor Ljiljana Šarić for contributing to an inspiring academic and great social environment among the members of the “ILOS Area Studies Group.” I would like to thank Tina Skouen for taking up the position as PhD coordinator at ILOS. Your advice on how to survive at UiO has been invaluable. A great thanks to research coordinators Jon Anstein Olsen and Silje Mosgren for being so willing to my questions regarding practical issues. To Marthe for being such a wonderful kontorkamerat. To Egle for all the cups of tea and chocolates . I am also indebted to my two copy editors: Susan Høivik for invaluable corrections, useful advice and encouragements, as well as updates from Sollihøgda and Italy, and Nicole Gallicchio for pointing to all my inconsistencies and advising me on how to weed them out. This author is fully responsible for any inaccuracies or mistakes. Now, to all of those who really and truly mean something. Mum, Dad, Håkon, Line, and Marius for great walks during weekends. All my good neighbors in Stjerneblokkveien who made me never forget that there is a world beynd academia. To Rehan for running the world’s best supermarket. To Beta, Milla, Akka, Katrine and those of you taking care of the “big children” who have smiled at me every morning. All employees at Furuset Elementary School and Activity School Camp who are there for us every day. To the majority in-group among Oslo’s inhabitants—that is, those who live in Groruddalen. To the owner of the café at VII Furuset Bibliotek og Aktivitetshus, who makes the best coffee in the world. To those with whom I have shared study rooms at Furuset: keep up the good work! To the Night Ravens who are there when you end your work day at 11pm. To Kjersti for showing up for morning coffee at 7:30 in the morning on a Saturday. To my new colleagues at VID and my neighbors and hopefully future friends in Stavanger. I am speechless with gratitude for your warm welcome and generosity in what has truly been a hectic period of my life. Last, but not least: to Mitja and BBB for always being there. I look forward to spending more time with you. Home is wherever you are. VIII IX Table of Contents 1 Chapter I Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Research Question ....................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Theory Framework ...................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Empirical Material ....................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Underlying Rationale and Main Contribution of the Study ........................................ 5 1.5 Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 7 1.6 Empirical Backdrop ................................................................................................... 10 1.6.1 Migration ............................................................................................................ 10 1.6.2 “Compatriots” ..................................................................................................... 14 1.6.3 Integration of Immigrants ................................................................................... 15 1.6.4 The Role of the Other in Russian Identity Formation ........................................ 18 1.6.5 Summing Up ...................................................................................................... 21 1.7 Research Context ....................................................................................................... 22 1.7.1 Civic and Ethnic in the Russian Context ............................................................ 22 1.7.2 Russkii and Rossiiskii ......................................................................................... 23 1.7.3 Images of the Russian Community .................................................................... 25 1.7.4 Ideal-Type Models of Integration ...................................................................... 28 1.7.5 Integration in the Russian Language .................................................................. 30 1.8 The Diacritical Markers ............................................................................................. 31 1.8.1 Language ............................................................................................................ 32 1.8.2 Culture ................................................................................................................ 34 1.8.3 Religion .............................................................................................................. 36 1.9 Thesis Outline ............................................................................................................ 37 1.9.1 Chapter II Theory Framework ............................................................................ 37 1.9.2 Chapter III Research Methodology .................................................................... 38 1.9.3 Chapter IV Presidential Discourse ..................................................................... 38 1.10 Media Discourse Chapters ..................................................................................... 38 1.10.1 Chapter V “Language” ....................................................................................... 38 1.10.2 Chapter VI “Culture” ......................................................................................... 39 1.10.3 Chapter VII “Religion” ...................................................................................... 40 1.10.4 Chapter VIII Conclusions and Suggestions for Further Research ..................... 40 X 2 Chapter II Theory Framework .........................................................................................
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