How has the Kremlin shifted from brute force to sophisticated disinformation campaigns to maintain its grip on power, and can we prove it with data? This research project takes a novel quantitative approach to tracing Russia’s evolution from overt repression to media manipulation under Putin, exploring how state-sponsored disinformation campaigns are used to prime public opinion, legitimise violence, and suppress dissent.

This lecture will be given by Maria Voltsichina, PhD candiate at Leiden University’s Institute of History.