Russian Bloggers in Telegram and in Instagram (February — May 2022): Qualitative Content Analysis of the Three Most Popular Bloggers, Valeria Chekalina, Olga Buzova, Ksenia Borodina

The relevance of this study is determined by the rapid changes in the media landscape caused by political and social events in Russia, in particular, the blocking of Instagram* in March 2022 and the “migration of bloggers” to the Telegram platform. A study of the blogging strategies of Valeria Chekalina, Olga Buzova and Ksenia Borodina between February and May 2022 reveals how the most influential bloggers have adapted their blogging, audience engagement and content promotion practices amid changes in the socio-political landscape and increased regulation. social networks. The main goal of the study is a qualitative analysis of the content of selected bloggers on the Instagram and Telegram platforms in order to determine how blocking of social networks and changes in the media space affect their promotion strategies. This study aims to understand how changes in platform availability and terms of use affect content creation and distribution practices. The theoretical framework of the dissertation includes an analysis of concepts and approaches to the study of celebrity in the context of social media as described by scholars such as Lilty, Inglis, Rojek, Gamson and Marshall. Particular attention is paid to works on the role of social networks in self-presentation and promotion, as well as the analysis of “digital celebrities” in the Russian context, which was studied in detail in the works of Logunova, Lebedev and Salamova. In addition, the possibilities and limitations of the Telegram and Instagram platforms are considered in the context of their use by bloggers to interact with the audience. Key research questions addressed: How do changes in legislation and platform blocking affect the choice of blogging strategies on Instagram and Telegram? How does blocking social networks affect the methods of creating and promoting content by Olga Buzova, Ksenia Borodina and Valeria Chekalina? What are the main differences in blogging strategies across platforms and how does this impact celebrity blogging? The study's findings highlight the importance of tailoring promotion strategies to the specifics of each platform to keep bloggers relevant in the changing media landscape. Future research will explore the long-term effects of these changes on blogger influence dynamics and digital content promotion. *Instagram belongs to the Meta company, recognized as an extremist organization and banned in the Russian Federation.