Description: What explains Putin's enduring popularity in Russia? In The Red Mirror, Gulnaz Sharafutdinova uses social identity theory to explain Putin's leadership. The main source of Putin's political influence, she finds, lies in how he articulates the shared collective perspective that unites many Russian citizens. Under his tenure, the Kremlin's media machine has tapped into powerful group emotions of shame and humiliation--derived from the Soviet transition in the 1990s--and has politicized national identity to transform these emotions into pride and patriotism.
Review Quotes: "The Red Mirror covers the vital aspects of identity politics in post-Soviet Russia with skill and nuance, covering a remarkable breadth of secondary literature that links up decades of scholarship." -- Matthew Blackburn, Europe-Asia Studies
"Methodologically The Red Mirror is an eclectic book bringing to the fore various theories and approaches to compose a coherent picture on Russian development during this millennium and understand it ... the book is most insightful and up-to-date." -- Simo Mannila, University of Helsinki, Eurasian Geography and Economics"Sharafutdinova's ambitious new undertaking is a major contribution to both the literature in Russian area studies and theoretical research focusing on the development of political identity." -- Igor Zevelev, Russian Review"In focusing mainly on Russian government of the last decade, Sharafutdinova has deepened our understanding of Russia, its citizens, and the autocratic President Putin. She scrupulously and often brilliantly examines many different groups and topics, and thus reveals Putin's skill at undermining the West and restoring the nation's self-respect. But this has also led to economic stagnation and a need for some oppression, factors that, she believes, ultimately threaten his rule." -- Peter Reddaway, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, George Washington University"Gulnaz Sharafutdinova's new book focuses on a first order question for any reader who wants to understand Russia or, more generally, modern autocracies: why Putin's popularity was so high in 2014-2018 despite dismal economic performance? The Red Mirror traces the origins of Putin's narrative, explains its appeal to Russian public, and explores the nuts and bolts of the media machine Putin uses to deliver the narrative in the most effective way." -- Sergei Guriev, Professor of Economics, Sciences Po, Paris