Post Soviet Postfeminist Imaginaries: Media, Power, and the Politics of Equality

This talk introduces the notion of post-Soviet post-feminism (PSPF), highlighting its dimensions, and unpicking the points of tension and ambivalence. It will reflect on the uniqueness of the Soviet emancipatory project and the complexity of contemporary feminism(s) in the region. Engaging with longitudinal media data, the study exposes PSPF’s overarching manifestation unified by a partial ‘discursive erasure’ of the Soviet past and (un)productive and, at times, simplistic applications of western approaches. The presentation is informed by a recent article (Europe-Asia Studies, 2025) on the mainstream forms of Russian feminism and by the current fieldwork on Ukrainian and Polish feminisms.

Galina Miazhevich is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Journalism, Media, and Culture at Cardiff University, UK. Galina has extensively published in peer-reviewed journals and co-authored several monographs. Her latest co-authored book on Russian celebrity feminism Contesting Feminism and Media Culture in Contemporary Russia: From Celebrities to Anti-war Activists [routledge.com] (open access) originates from FEMCORUS project Mediated Feminism(s) in Contemporary Russia, Academy of Finland (2021-2025). Galina led an AHRC Leadership Fellowship (2018-2020) on media representations of non-heteronormative sexuality in Russia and organised several international events including a series of Gorbachev Press Freedom lectures at Oxford University.