The Soviet TV Viewer in the Post-Soviet Period: Portrait in a Rural Environment

Abstract

The article analyzes the phenomenon that we call the “last Soviet TV viewers” in the Russian rural areas. This is the generation of people over 50 years old who were the first for whom television became the primary medium from a young age, and who today are the last for whom it continues to be. The peculiarities of the practices of television viewing and interaction with television have become central to the analysis. The study is based on materials from six field expeditions (2012–2019) to the rural areas of Russia, in which, out of 263 collected in-depth interviews and observations, 106 were conducted with people whom we attribute to this phenomenon and allow us to draw conclusions about the features of their television viewing. The article examines how television is represented in the daily life of rural settlers, what the rural “last Soviet TV viewers” watch in the post-Soviet period, what the current practices of television viewing are, and how the villagers relate to television content and technology. Television was and remains the main medium for the studied group and is perceived as a significant source of content. Many media practices of Soviet television viewers survived in the early post-Soviet period and persist in the 2000s. The new technology acquired by the informants is adapted until it becomes compatible with the basic practices of everyday life.