This article is devoted to analysis of the ‘media drug wave’ that occurred in Russia at the end of the 1990s. Following a general description of the coverage of the drug problem by the Russian press, the article sets out to explore some reasons that may help to explain the extremely negative attitude of the media and the overwhelming majority of the Russian population to drugs and drug users. Drawing on the cultural theory of risk, it is argued that such an attitude cannot be explained in rational terms of the negative consequences for the health and security of members of society; rather, drugs and drug users are perceived to be symbolic polluters of society. Cultural codes of purity and pollution can help clarify several key themes that inform political and public debates around drugs in Russia. The social context (rise of ‘Russian neomoralism’) in which the drug problem was constructed is outlined.
Drugs and symbolic pollution: The work of cultural logic in the Russian press
Cultural Sociology, 3 (3), 377-395. doi: 10.1177/1749975509105538.