The socio-economic and demographic factors of online activity among right-wing radicals

This paper presents the results of a study on socio-economic and demographic factors thataffect the intensity of right-wing radicals’ activity in the framework of the Russian-basedsocial network VKontakte. Right-wing radical ideas expressed within the VKontakte network are most actively supported by the population of the regional centres (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar Krai) and areas around these centres, which are defined as the semi-periphery in the core-periphery model. The intensity of the online activity of right-wing radicals is mostly influenced by demographic factors, including the average age of the population, the net migration rate coefficient; however, it is not affected by the indicators of economic wellbeing. The authors hypothesise that support for right-wing radical ideology on social media is determined not by the objective characteristics of the social and economic well-being of the population, but by subjective emotional factors (irritation, feelings of social injustice)

Digital methods of analysis of subjective quality of life: case of Russian regions

Abstract: The paper presents a method for measuring subjective quality of life in the regions of the Russian Federation on the basis of digital data. Information about online activity of users in the largest social media in Russia - VKontakte was taken as the data source. Quality of Life Index was calculated based on the obtained data. The results show that overall users tend to negatively assess the quality of life in their regions, with the highest estimates of the quality of life observed in the “ethnic” areas of the Russian Federation – republics, autonomous territories, districts and regions, first of all, in North Caucuses, Siberia and the Russian Far East. The lowest quality-of-life assessments of are noted in some regions in West Siberia. The paper analyses how the results of measuring quality of life with digital methods correlate with objective social-and-economic and demographic indicators of regional development. Several regularities for the “ethnic” areas are revealed while in other areas (regions, territories, cities of federal status) no significant correlations were established. The paper also gives a comparative analysis of quality of life assessments obtained through traditional questionnaire methods and digital methods

Assessment of quality of life in regions of Russia based on social media data

The article offers a new method of quality of life assessment based on online activities of social networks users. The method has obvious advantages (quickness of research, low costs, large scale, and detailed character of the obtained information) and limitations (it covers only the “digital population,” whereas the rural population is not included). The article dwells on the potential of social networks as a data source to analyze the quality of life; it also presents the results of an empirical study of online activities of the users of VK, the most popular Russian social network. Using the obtained data, the authors have calculated the quality of life index for 83 regions of the Russian Federation based on 19 parameters of economic, social, and political aspects of life quality

A comparative analysis of right-wing radical and Islamist communities’ strategies for survival in social networks (evidence from the Russian social network VKontakte)

This article presents a comparative analysis of online communities of right-wing radicals and Islamists, who are considered to be numerous and dangerous extremist groups in Russian society. The online communities were selected based on the content posted on the largest Russian social networking site VKontakte. The goal of this article is to determine the strategy and tactics employed by extremist online communities for survival on social networking sites. The authors discovered that both right-wing radical and Islamist groups employ similar behavioural techniques, with the mimicry of ideologically neutral content as the most common. In addition, every extremist community also applies some unique methods. For example, if there is a risk of being blocked, right-wing radicals tend to shift their activity and communication to the other internet-based platforms that are not under state control; however, Islamists prefer to suddenly change the content of their communities (i.e. by using secondary mimicry)

A comparative analysis of the online activity of Alexei Navalny’s supporters affected by the parliamentary election of 2016 and the presidential election of 2018: regional differences

The article presents the results of the analysis of online activities in Vkontakte groups for followers of Alexei Navalny, the opposition politician. Online activities were measured at times of elections in all Russian regions: the State Duma of the Russian Federation elections of 18 September 2016, and the presidential elections of 18 March 2018. An Online Activity Index was introduced to measure online activities of the opposition supporters. We determined that online activities of opposition supporters are mostly concentrated in the largest economic hubs of the Russian Federation like Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar Kray, etc. Online activities of Navalny’s supporters tend to change significantly. In 2016 there was a visible 24 decline of online activities after the State Duma elections (as compared to their activity prior to the elections), however, in 2018 we have seen the dramatic 268 growth of activity among Navalny’s supporters after the presidential elections. © 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

The socio-economic and demographic factors of online activity among right-wing radicals

This paper presents the results of a study on socio-economic and demographic factors thataffect the intensity of right-wing radicals’ activity in the framework of the Russian-basedsocial network VKontakte. Right-wing radical ideas expressed within the VKontakte network are most actively supported by the population of the regional centres (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar Krai) and areas around these centres, which are defined as the semi-periphery in the core-periphery model. The intensity of the online activity of right-wing radicals is mostly influenced by demographic factors, including the average age of the population, the net migration rate coefficient; however, it is not affected by the indicators of economic wellbeing. The authors hypothesise that support for right-wing radical ideology on social media is determined not by the objective characteristics of the social and economic well-being of the population, but by subjective emotional factors (irritation, feelings of social injustice)

Islamist communities on Vkontakte: Identification mechanisms and network structure

This article examines the presence of extremist online communities on the Russian social network VKontakte following the tightening by Russian federal аuthorities of internet counter-extremism policies and censorship. Extremist communities were detected using linguistic markers for extremist attitudes and radical violence. The study of socio-demographic data and network metrics of Islamist extremist communities reveals some general tendencies in the Russian context: a majority of female participants, a highly decentralised community network structure, radical Salafism as the mainstream ideology and covert proselytisation through the discussion of Islamic theology and lifestyle issues that are not in themselves extremist