Microsociology of big events: the dynamics of eventful solidarities in “For fair elections” and Euromaidan protest movements Oleg Zhuravlev Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of Political and Social Sciences of the European University Institute Florence, 22 October 2018 European University Institute Department of Political and Social Sciences Microsociology of big events: the dynamics of eventful solidarities in “For fair elections” and Euromaidan protest movements Oleg Zhuravlev Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of Political and Social Sciences of the European University Institute Examining Board Professor Donatella della Porta, Scuola Normale Superiore, supervisor Professor László Bruszt, Central European University Professor Nina Eliasoph, University of Southern California Professor Laurent Thévenot, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales 2 © Oleg Zhuravlev, 2018 No part of this thesis may be copied, reproduced or transmitted without prior permission of the author 3 4 Researcher declaration to accompany the submission of written work Department of Political and Social Sciences - Doctoral Programme I, Oleg Zhuravlev, certify that I am the author of the work Microsociology of big events: the dynamics of eventful solidarities in “For fair elections” and Euromaidan protest movements I have presented for examination for the Ph.D. at the European University Institute. I also certify that this is solely my own original work, other than where I have clearly indicated, in this declaration and in the thesis, that it is the work of others. I warrant that I have obtained all the permissions required for using any material from other copyrighted publications. I certify that this work complies with the Code of Ethics in Academic Research issued by the European University Institute (IUE 332/2/10 (CA 297). The copyright of this work rests with its author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This work may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. This authorisation does not, to the best of my knowledge, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that this work consists of 67 828 words. Statement of inclusion of previous work: I confirm that chapters 4 and 5 were written on the basis of the forthcoming article co-authored with Svetlana Erpyleva and Natalia Savelyeva and I contributed <80%> of the work. I confirm that chapters <6 and 7> draws upon an earlier article I published: Zhuravlev O. From Presence to Belonging: Eventful Identity of Euromaidan // Psychology, Journal of the Higher School of Economics, Vol. 12. No. 3. P. 69–85 (2015) Signature and date: September 12, 2018 5 6 7 Content Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter I. General Introduction: the hope of eventful change .................................................................. 13 The contexts: authoritarianism and depoliticization .............................................................................. 17 Chapter II. Theory: eventful approach, pragmatic sociology, social movement studies ............................ 27 Eventful identity ...................................................................................................................................... 27 Eventful protests: change or reproduction? ........................................................................................... 30 How do events move: pragmatic sociology and political semiosis ......................................................... 37 Pragmatic of culture ............................................................................................................................ 44 Chapter III. Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 51 Methods: political semiosis, pragmatic approach, life stories analysis .................................................. 51 Narrative analysis ................................................................................................................................ 51 Life stories ........................................................................................................................................... 58 Case selection: why Russia and Ukraine? ............................................................................................... 59 Fieldwork and Data ................................................................................................................................. 64 Russian case ........................................................................................................................................ 64 Ukrainian case ..................................................................................................................................... 67 Chapter IV. The Russian case: “Bolotnaya” ................................................................................................. 70 Introduction: political or a-political? ...................................................................................................... 70 The dynamics of the events .................................................................................................................... 73 The trigger of the protest: moral investment and moral shock ............................................................. 75 The eventful identity of the “Bolotnaya” movement ............................................................................. 78 Collective identity in slogans............................................................................................................... 81 Demands and voting strategies .......................................................................................................... 85 The crisis of the movement .................................................................................................................... 91 Chapter V. After the protest: from rallies to local movements .................................................................. 96 8 Pragmatics of local collective action ....................................................................................................... 96 Politicization of local activism ............................................................................................................... 106 Integration familiar and public ......................................................................................................... 106 Politics and Getting Real Things Done .............................................................................................. 109 Facts and Politicization ..................................................................................................................... 115 Biographical Hybrids ......................................................................................................................... 119 Illustrated by one interview .............................................................................................................. 125 The Emergence of a Group Style .......................................................................................................... 127 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 134 Chapter VI. The Ukrainian case: Euromaidan ........................................................................................... 136 Introduction: Civil war of civic nation? ................................................................................................. 136 The dynamics of the events .................................................................................................................. 144 The trigger of the protest: moral shock ................................................................................................ 155 The Eventful Identity of Euromaidan .................................................................................................... 162 The Politics of Authenticity ............................................................................................................... 167 Chapter VII. After the protest: polarization .............................................................................................. 172 Transformation of eventful identity: from inclusion to exclusion ........................................................ 175 Not true Ukrainians are almost Russians .......................................................................................... 181 Radicalization of nationalism ............................................................................................................ 185 Stigmatization by exclusion .............................................................................................................. 187 Stigmatization by inclusion ............................................................................................................... 189 As seen by the eyes of Antimaidan ....................................................................................................... 195 Local and national ............................................................................................................................