The Russian internet is a hotbed for memes and viral videos: the
political, satirical and simply absurd compete for attention in Russia
while the West turns to it for an endless reserve of humorous content.
But how did this powerful cyber community grow out of the repressive
media environment of the Soviet Union? What does this viral content
reveal about the country, its politics and its culture? And why are the
memes and videos of today's Russia so popular, spreading so rapidly
across the globe?
Award-winning author Eliot Borenstein explores the explosive online
movement and unpicks, for the first time, the role of mimetic content
and digital activism in modern Russian history up to the present day.