ABSTRACT
The chapter analyses how race and whiteness are discussed within contemporary Russian public discourses, in political commentaries and particularly in popular media, and how they are connected to nationalism. The chapter analyses online media discourses in the context of two case studies: Russian discussions about the Black Lives Matter movement in the USA and debates around the representation of Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 by the singer of Tajik descent Manizha and her song ‘Russian Woman’. The chapter argues that both events were framed through discussions about ‘Russianness’, which has notions of whiteness at its core. Moreover, the public debates witnessed of the myth of Russian society as historically not only free from anti-Black racism, but also as an active anti-racist ally of Black people.
