Political Phenomenon of Manipulative Identity in the Post-Soviet Space

Abstract

The article analyzes the phenomenon of manipulative identity in post-Soviet states under the conditions of an ideological vacuum that emerged after the collapse of the USSR. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing competition of historical narratives in the post-Soviet space and the increasing attention of political actors to the construction of collective identity as a means of legitimizing power and redirecting societal value orientations. The aim of the study is to identify the structural characteristics and key mechanisms involved in the formation of manipulative identity within the political and informational space of post-Soviet countries. The empirical base (materials) of the study consisted of representations of historical memory and identity in the public and media space (historical, cultural and memorial practices used as tools for the symbolic construction of identity). The article proposes for expert discussion a definition of manipulative identification as a socio-political communicative technology aimed at shaping new cultural and value-based paradigms of political legitimacy and civilizational self-definition in the post-Soviet space.