VKontakte Geopolitical Narratives Amplification and Algorithmic Audience Engagement in Tsargrad’s Media Network

Digital technologies and social media platforms have become key vectors in international relations and conflict, enabling state and non-state actors to construct and disseminate ideological narratives, shape transnational identities, and mobilize new forms of participation. This study focuses on geopolitical narrative construction and dissemination on a non-Western social media platform, VKontakte, and the channels of the Russian entrepreneur of influence Konstantin Malofeev, Tsargrad Society and Tsargrad Television. The seminar explores two research questions: what geopolitical narratives are constructed and amplified on VKontakte by Tsargrad Television and Society before and after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how these narratives resonate across digital audiences.

Theoretically, the paper is anchored in ontological security studies, narrative structure, and constructivist stands on international relations (Steele, 2008; Hagström, 2019, 2022; Holland and Mathieu, 2023, Wendt, 1992). Mixed-methods approach is adopted as user engagement patterns are explored through descriptive statistics identifying most amplified narratives and periods with high activity. Additionally, narrative analysis is applied when analyzing storytelling in posts with highest number of reactions and their affiliated comments. Unusual spikes of user reactions are observed after February 2022 as information campaigns were visible. Amplified narratives often framed Ukraine and the Ukrainian Armed Forces in nationalist terms, while presenting civilians in Eastern Ukraine primarily through a victimhood lens, contributing to a simplified hero–villain narrative during the first seven months after the start of the invasion. The Russo-Ukrainian war is also storied as a larger geopolitical struggle for the nature of the international system and US hegemony. Combat death commemorations and mediatisation of both private and public grief are another key narrative theme for reproduction and contestation of wartime public support. The seminar further explores questions about the audio-visual affordances of VKontakte in enhancing emotional impact of these narratives, mediatisation of emotions, and subtle forms of resistance among commenting audiences. This research was conducted in collaboration between the Institute of Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Centre for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences.

Alexandra Brankova is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Political Science at the Swedish Defence University working on a project about Geopolitical Narratives. Alexandra is also an affiliated researcher at the Institute for Russian and Eurasian studies, Uppsala University. She holds a PhD degree in Media and Communications from Uppsala University. Her research interests include geopolitical narratives, identity construction, international relations, digital media, & nationalism studies.