In this article, the author addresses the issue of flash animation and humour in computer-mediated communication.He traces Russian national graphic traditions of humour and publicity and provides historical insight into the aesthetics of flash animation. He also suggests a notion of the video anekdot, a form of flash animation that relies on the tradition of oral humorous performances that proliferated in the USSR as an attempt to overcome state censorship. With the abolishing of censorship, the anekdot continues to exist on the internet in the form of short flash animation films. The author analyses new structures of the anekdot and its relation to the previous forms of humorous and satirical art (lubok, the Soviet poster and caricature). Reflecting on the dominating themes and narrative structures of the video anekdot, he concludes with general remarks on transformations in Russian culture in regard to its traditions of oral performance and visual representations.
The article presents essential information on the development of digital television (DTV) in Russia by providing an analysis of government documents, DTV markets, and the forms of signal delivery and configuration of DTV channels in Russia's regions. It outlines the interrelated geographical,
technological, political, economic, social and cultural factors influencing the development of DTV in Russia and puts this in the context of Russia's transition from a totalitarian state to a country with a market economy. The article discusses the role of different actors on the DTV market
and puts forward concerns over the government's attempts to maintain state control over television by building capabilities for competing in the new media sphere. It also places DTV developments in the context of Russia's ongoing project of nation building.
I re-assess Russian sartorial economics of the 1990s by examining fashion by Konstantin Goncharov, who was credited for styling Russian rock stars and making costumes for artistic projects. I focus on the relationship between queer masculinity and sartorial practice. The former relies
on a visual code encompassing a range of multi-platform, cross-media strategies and a network of references. The latter refers to a community of individuals engaged in the production of a characteristic style across different sites. The article proposes the concept of queer world-building,
which brings together object-oriented and community-oriented practices. Central to Goncharov’s world is ‘the queer coat’, a costume designed for his clientele and a historically grounded metaphor for Russian society. It designates the process of creative re-modelling of pre-Soviet
and Soviet aesthetics, producing a complex cultural exchange challenging dominant notions of masculinity. Goncharov’s cross-platform and intermedial work captures the spirit of multi-centric cultural activity of the 1990s.
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