1. S
Glory and Unification or
Corruption and Intolerance?
Ilya Kiriya, Ph.D., professor, head of the Laboratory for media research
National Research University Higher School of Economics
ikiria@hse.ru
2. Research question
S How could we characterize the discourse around Sochi 2014
Games? I.e. not the discourse covering the results of sport
event but the discourse interpreting such results and all another
issues depicting Games like a socio-political event.
S The huge contradiction between the general idea of Olympic
movement (Pierre de Coubertin pacifying and unifying idea of
sport) and the discourse “around” games with intolerance,
glorification, corruption etc.
S Idea was to analyze the online social network discourse
3. Methodology
S Laboratory for media research HSE in Moscow
S Using service Wobot indexed all messages with key words concerning the Olympics
(Sochi 2014, Olympics, Games etc.) in twitter, livejournal (blogs and microblogs) and
in Vkontakte (social network) between 7 of January till 15 of March
S Few sets of data: overall data (few hundred thousand messages), few samples.
S Actual research is based on the “social activity” sample: integrated only most cited
and liked messages. Total number of messages initially has been 2000.
S Messages has been read carefully and spam messages as well as “trash messages”
and messages concerned direct results of games has been eliminated. The final
database includes about 700 messages.
S All messages has been coded softly (without preliminary categories) into few dozen
categories, than they has been grouped. It allows us to go through discourse and to
do more detailed review of the messages.
4. Structure of the first sample
951
789
17
vk.com twitter.com livejournal.com
Number of messages
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
8
12
16
19
21
43
51
65
96
108
118
Freestyle
Ski-jump
Short-track
Volonteers
IOC
Speed skating
Pussy Riot
Bobsley
Snowboard
Curling
Olympic village
Mutko
Ski races
Olympics 80
Medvedev
Kossaks
USSR
LGBT
Olympic buildings
Biathlon
Figure skating
Plushtshenko
Skeleton
America
Putin
Hockey
Main tags
• Even in the first sample (before elimination of
spam and trash) we could see very highly
personalized discussion of Sochi Games which
are directly associated with Putin.
• We could also clearly see the main antagonist
- America
n=1757
n=1757
5. Main problem
S When we started this research initially we
supposed that the main non-sportive public
discourse of social media during Sochi
2014 will turn around gay and lesbian
issues, intolerance, corruption and
spending moneys.
S Actually we could see that the main public
discourse about Sochi 2014 is not about
such matters but about Ukraine. 1/3 of all
messages are mentioning this country. It’s
two times less than messages where Putin
was mentioned
S Seemingly Crimea acquisition became a
good argument for increase the glorification
of the Games and accentuate the national
pride.
6. Dynamics of main topics
S Russia and USA remains main antagonists even in discourse about OG
S Ukrainian topic accentuated the presence of Putin in messages
S Two main sportive events during Games: renouncing of Russian figure skater
Plushtshenko from the participation in individual program and Russian hockey team
failing.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
08.янв
11.янв
14.янв
17.янв
20.янв
23.янв
26.янв
29.янв
01.февр
04.февр
07.февр
10.февр
13.февр
16.февр
19.февр
22.февр
25.февр
28.февр
03.марта
06.марта
09.марта
12.марта
15.марта
Main topics (per day)
Putin
Corruption
Ukraine
Commenting games
97
218
55
Putin Ukraine USA
Main
antagonists
messages
n=688n=688
7. General impression of Games
S National pride and glorification
dominates within the online
discourse (but is less liked and
reposted – average 6000 likes
against 8000 for mockery)
S Such messages are much more
present in twitter and more within
reposts and retweets from online
media.
226
33
89
12
Pride Fake (imitation) Mockery Boring event
General impressions
(messages)
199
27
79
9
Pride Fake
(imitation)
Mockery Boring event
General impressions (messages
in different sources)
Original messages
Links for media
75
13 3
147
70 28
4 6 2
Pride Mokery Fake (imitation)
General imperssions
(messages in different social
media)
Livejournal
VK
Twitter
n=688
n=688
n=688
8. Economic issues
75
53
36
35
27
21
12
7
7
4
1
Non useful spending
Corruption
Spending are reasonable
Why Olympics is the priority
Comparison spending for Sochi and
for Crimea
Intervention to Crimea as a tool to
attract more tourists to Sochi
Simple people are paying for
Olympics
Building in Crimea like in Sochi
Salary of athlets
Comparison with Abkhazia
Expensive to go
S The social
media
discourse
about
economic
issues of
Olympics is
generally
critical?
S Some topics
in field of
economy of
Olympics are
connected
with Ukraine
case
n=688
9. Political issues
S Very weak political interpretation
of Games directly. Remaining
political messages are not about
Sochi but about Ukraine and
Sochi OG just figuring within it in
non-political context.
S Big number of messages are
linking political situation in Ukraine
with Sochi Games
14
5
3
1
1
1
1
1
Olympics like pretext for
american to impose ukranian…
Comparing with 1936 Olympics
and parallel between games…
Reinforcing the impression of
total alowness
Comparing with 1980 Games
and the war in Afghanistan
Military essays
Comparing with 2008 Georgian
crisis and Olympics
Boycott closing ceremony
Opposition
Main political issues
(messages)
n=688
10. Sochi (place issues)
S Quite modest discussion
of Sochi as the place:
conditions of life,
mockery on unfinished
buildings etc.
20
12
9
7
3
Conditions of life
Security
Dogs (before olympic games all wild
dogs in Sochi eliminated)
Climate
Cultural shock of foreigners
General issues about City of
Sochi
n=688
11. Intolerance topics
S Seemingly the discourse about Ukraine make such
issues less discussed in the digital public sphere.
S General intolerance has been reoriented from such
issues to Ukrainian crisis.
5
10
5
Pussy Riot
Homophoby
Nationalism
Topics concerning important
social issues
n=688
12. Conclusion
S Sochi Olympics has been the event which generally has been
interpreted by Russian people like a kind of the crusade
against someone.
S Ukrainian crisis and inclusion of Crimea into Russia helped the
population to glorify the nation and its leaders and generally to
accentuate the non-tolerance discourse. In that sense Crimea
case became a kind of continuation of Sochi Games and
general conquest against America like main antagonist.
