This doctoral dissertation explores the development of Russian journalism as a profession through its practitioners. They represent the old Soviet and new post-Soviet generations in the profession and yield empirical evidence of ongoing change. This includes the transformation of the idea of journalism from an abstract romantic, mostly socialistic, ideal of public service (Soviet professionals) to self-interest in the profession (post-Soviet professionals). It emerges because of a change of journalistic status in society: from the former state worker of the state media of the Soviet epoch to a market freelancer, autonomous, self-employed, combining jobs in/outside journalism in an individual quest to improve his/her own fortune.
Moreover, the labour values of the Soviet generation (collective above individual, spiritual above material, work before private life) are rejected by the new generations, pursuing market values and individual success. In the recent years the state has been the most attractive employer with regard to the basic rewards: wages, working conditions, social security, individual career advancement; the young generation increasingly strives to get jobs in the (pro) state media.
The repertoire of journalistic roles in essence changed little over the last twenty years, transforming from Lenin’s propagandist, agitator and organiser to the present PR worker, entertainer and organiser. It predicts that many post-Soviet media work as clones of the Soviet media, although in the process of the market reforms of the 1990s they were de-communised, privatised, commercialised and capitalised. Nevertheless, the media and journalists show a virtually unchanged attitude to the political authority, taking it as an inevitable factor of influence in their work; mostly the young generation sees it as its potential employer and avoids conflict with those in power.
The logics of the development of Russian journalism reveal its cyclical character within the political tradition of the supremacy of the state, on the one hand, and underdevelopment of the rights of an individual, on the other. Originally established as a part of the state service by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703, journalism began to professionalise itself in the epoch of early capitalism of the 1800s, starting a process of self-regulation and drawing up professional standards. However, it was turned again into the state service by the new rule of Soviets with subsequent elitisation of the profession as a part of the political work in the masses. After the collapse of the USSR and a radical turn from planned socialism to market capitalism, Russian journalism is developing the polar trends towards professionalisation and proletarianisation. Since the 2000s, the profession has again turned increasingly to be as a part of the state service.
This dissertation suggests a new focus on the problem of the non-freedom of Russian journalism from the perspective of the Western sociology of professions, mainly theories of proletarianisation and professionalisation. What is important for the comprehension of Russian professionals is generational analysis identifying the succession of the young generation to the national political tradition including its condoning of the power of the state over the individual.
The dissertation is based on four case studies conducted phase by phase starting in St Petersburg, 1998–2002, moving to the Republic of Karelia, 2002–2004, then to the Russian regions, 2003–2005, and finally returning to St Petersburg, 2005. It represents regional Russia in various ways in geography: the ten regions are at different ends of the country and different in structure: megapolis, regional centre and locality. The major part of the empirical data consists of in-depth interviews with journalists (30+30+30), expert interviews (11+ 12+ 10), surveys of experts (12) and journalists (237); the procedures of grounded theory and factor analysis are used for treatment of the data.
