US Edition“Our Russian people!”: Content creators portray life in Mariupol in an optimistic light, with Kremlin support
- Russian occupation authorities established training centers in Mariupol in 2022 to teach local youth content creation and promote a positive image of the city.
- These efforts follow Russia’s siege and bombing that heavily damaged Mariupol and forced over 350,000 people to flee amid extensive civilian casualties.
- The two-week courses, run by Donbass Media Centre and backed by presidential grants, provide video, photography, and social media skills focused on pro-occupation narratives.
- As instructor Pavel Karbovskij declared, “This is Mariupol, our Russian city,” while influencers highlight reconstruction and encourage Russians to relocate to abandoned homes.
- This campaign supports Kremlin messaging but complicates displaced residents’ return and raises legal concerns over the distribution of homes left by fleeing Ukrainians.
14 Articles
14 Articles
After the bloody siege – influencers paint a rosy picture of Mariupol
Three years after Russia's bloody siege of the city of Mariupol, young influencers are being trained to spread a positive image of the occupied city, a CNN review shows. "They want to influence a younger generation and make them patriotic," says Carolina Vendil Pallin, research director at the Swedish National Defence Research Institute, FOI.
Russia uses influencers to promote life in destroyed Mariupol
Russia is using state-backed social media influencers to promote a favourable image of Mariupol, the Ukrainian city devastated by Russian forces in the early stages of the full-scale invasion. According to reporting by CNN, a Kremlin-funded blogger training programme has launched operations in Mariupol to teach teenagers how to produce videos and content that frames the city’s occupation in a positive light.
How Russia is using social media to keep a grip on occupied Mariupol
Three years after it seized control of Mariupol following a brutal 86-day siege, Russia is using a more subtle power to keep its grip on the Ukrainian port city: social media influencers. CNN’s investigation found that residents of the occupied city, including school children, are being trained in new media programs and “blogger schools” with ties to the Russian state.
“Our Russian people!”: Content creators portray life in Mariupol in an optimistic light, with Kremlin support
Three years after seizing control of Mariupol following a brutal 86-day siege, Russia is using a more subtle power to maintain its hold on the Ukrainian port city: social media influencers. A CNN investigation found that residents of the occupied city, including students, are receiving training in new media programs and “blogging schools” linked to the Russian state. While their follower count and overall reach pale in comparison to celebrity in…
"Our Russian people!": Content creators portray life in Mariupol in an optimistic light, with Kremlin support.
By Clare Sebastian, Katharina Krebs and Svitlana Vlasova, CNN Three years after seizing control of Mariupol following a brutal 86-day siege, Russia is using a more subtle power to maintain its stranglehold on the Ukrainian port city: social media influencers. A CNN investigation found that residents of the occupied city, including students, are receiving training in new media programs and “blogging schools” linked to the Russian state. While the…
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