Dynamics of audience engagement in the digital content of Communist Party of the Russian Federation deputies on the main Internet platforms in 2024

A sociological analysis of the dynamics of audience involvement in the digital content of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Communist Party) deputies on the main Internet platforms for 2024 has been presented. The purpose of the study is to identify the main trends and patterns of Internet audience involvement in the digital content of the Communist Party deputies on online platforms during 2024, as well as to assess the parliamentary left's communication strategies effectiveness in the new information reality. The theoretical and methodological basis has been formed by the concepts of M. Castells’s network society, G. Reinhold’s smart crowd, and L. Bennett’s and A. Segerberg’s connective action. The empirical base of the study is based on social network monitoring data obtained using the KRIBRUM.PRO system. The analysis results show that the digital content of the Communist Party deputies is structured around four thematic clusters – social policy, regional development, foreign policy, and ideology. When compared with other parliamentary forces, the Communist Party is lagging behind in the digital ratings race. In the sociological dimension, this reflects the fundamental issue of adapting traditional political institutions to the realities of a digital society. The digital indicators dynamics indicates a positive trend and the beginning of the process of modernizing the information work of the Communist Party. The study results are of practical importance for optimizing the communication strategies of political associations in the modern realities of digital development. The prospects for further research are related to a more detailed study of the structure and segmentation of the audience involved in the digital content of Communist Party deputies, as well as an analysis of network communication conversion into offline support for the party.

1. Sysoev O.A., Zamozhnykh E.A. Strategic communications of political actors in the public regional space. PR and advertising in a changing world: regional aspect. 2021;25:6–13. (In Russian).

2. Nikiporets-Takigawa G.Yu. Internetization of the political space on the example of Russia. Dis. … Dr. Sci. (Polit.): 23.00.02. St. Petersburg; 2020. 735 p. (In Russian).

3. Evseeva L.I., Shipunova O.D. The Processes of Digitalization of the Political Sphere: The Role of Network Communications in the Development of Political Dialogue. In: Current Issues of Modern Political Science. Saint Petersburg: Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University; 2022. Pp. 74–83. (In Russian).

4. Brodovskaya E.V., Kravchuk I.D., Polyushko E.D., Gayval A.I. Assessment of the Digital Management of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in Moscow in the 2023 Electoral Cycle. Izvestiya of Tula State University. Humanities. 2023;4:9–18. (In Russian).

5. Brodovskaya E.V., Karzubov D.N., Lukushin V.A. Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation’s Digital Communications at the Start of the 2021 Election Campaign. Vlast. 2021;4(29):61–66. (In Russian).

6. Castells M. The Power of Communication. 2nd ed., enlarged. Moscow: Higher School of Economics; 2017. 590 p. (In Russian).

7. Reinhold G. The Smart Crowd: The New Social Revolution. Moscow: FAIR-PRESS; 2006. 416 p. (In Russian).

8. Bennett L., Segerberg A. The Logic of Connective Action: Digital Media and the Personalization of Contentious Politics. Cambridge University Press; 2014. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139198752

9. Fadeeva L.A., Dumler D.A. Zyuganov’s Factor in the Party Transformation of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Power and Elites. 2023;2(10):170–182. (In Russian).