Russian Public Historians in the New Media (the Case of Telegram)

Ch. 10. P. 245–270.

Kolesnik A., Stepanov B., Savelieva I. M.

Intensive development of new media makes the discussion of their role in science increasingly relevant. Considering this perspective, one of the most important issues for public history is the question of transformation of a historian’s professional identity. In Russia, where public history as a sphere of intellectual work and practical activity is going through the process of formation, this issue has not yet received any full-fledged understanding. In our chapter, we attempt a pilot study of this subject using the examples of Russian history projects in Telegram – this platform has been rapidly gaining popularity in recent years, primarily among young Russian historians. According to our estimates, Telegram in the Russian media space plays a role similar to Twitter in English-speaking countries, and its popularity is growing every year. The emergence of history projects indicates a certain increase of interest in stepping outside the limits of professional communication and in launching the new public platforms to discuss history. Analysing this phenomenon is relevant for understanding the evolution of the role of a public historian in Russia. In particular, it allows us to ask questions about how people, who make history the subject of their professional studies, use new media for public communication; what attracts them to a certain media platform; what topics and forms of activity historians prefer to there.

Keywords: Russia, history, Public history, telegram channels, new media

Publication based on the results of: Perceptions of the Past in the Russian Public Sphere: Institutional Frameworks and Channels of Communication (2021)

In book

Professional Historians in Public: Old and New Roles Revisited

Berlin: De Gruyter, 2023.