Тема: Nation Branding in the Aftermath of a Military Conflict: the Case of Chechnya

Research Premises. Around the turn of the 20th century, Chechnya was the theater of two devastating military campaigns, carried out by Russian federal forces against the Chechen separatist army. By the time pro-Russian Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov was appointed in 2007, the small Caucasian Republic had already made major steps on the path towards peace and stability: heavy-scale fighting had stopped and Chechnya was once again part of the Russian Federation. Under Kadyrov’s leadership the remaining rebellious armed groups on Chechen soil were defeated and the Republic rebuilt from scratches. However, after peaceful life was reestablished in Chechnya, the local administration had still to face a deep image crisis: the reputation of the Republic and its inhabitants was severely damaged in the course of the conflict, during which Chechnya came to be associated with crime, separatism and Islamic terrorism. Most of these stereotypes are deeply rooted in Russian culture, due to centuries of conflictive relations between Chechens and Russians. In the last few years, the local administration has been promoting a new image of Chechnya through what can be defined as a process of nation branding. Theorized in the 90s by Simon Anholt, the concept of nation branding refers to all communication practices aimed at promoting the image of a nation among a specific audience. The purpose of our study is to analyze the current Chechen nation brand, in order to identify the nation branding techniques that have been adopted to improve the reputation of Chechnya within Russian society.
Novelty. Unlike most nation branding practices, which are carried out to influence foreign audiences, the case of Chechnya is an example of how nation branding can take place within a multinational State like the Russian Federation. Moreover, our study seeks to provide insights on how nation branding techniques can be deployed as means of reconciliation, useful to counter negative perceptions engendered during inter-ethnic and separatist conflicts.
Research Object. The primary objects of our study is the current Chechnya’s nation brand and the nation branding practices adopted by the Chechen
administration to influence the Russian public. As a preliminary object of study, we carried out a diachronic reconstruction of the portrayal of Chechnya and Chechens in Russian literature and media, on the basis of which the contemporary brand of Chechnya can be interpreted.
Research Questions. What are the main features of Chechnya’s current nation brand? What nation branding techniques have been adopted by the current administration of Chechnya in order to improve the image of the region among the Russian public?
Goal. The purpose of our research consists in defining the contemporary brand of Chechnya and pointing out the nation branding techniques adopted by the Chechen administration in order to improve the image of the Republic in the eyes of the Russian public.
Tasks. In order to accomplish our goal, we carried out the following tasks:
- Provided an adequate background on nation branding theory
- Reconstructed the diachronic evolution of the portrayal of the Chechen Nation in Russian culture, focusing mainly on Russian 19th century literature and Post-Soviet Russian media. Thus we provided the premises which allow an adequate interpretation of the nation brand currently promoted by the Chechen administration.
- Identified the main sources through which Chechnya’s nation brand is communicated to the Russian audience.
- Carried out a content analysis of the selected sources in order to deconstruct Chechnya’s nation brand and point out its main constitutive elements.
- Interpreted Chechnya’s nation brand, highlighting the communication strategies which are being used to improve the image of the Republic in the eyes of the Russian public.
Chronological framework. The selected time framework embraces the history of Russian-Chechen relations starting from the Caucasian War (1817-1864), when most of the modern images and perceptions of Chechnya have their roots. For reason of conciseness we did not consider representations of Chechnya in the Soviet Union, given the less significant impact of this period on the perception of Chechnya in Russia’s mass consciousness. Therefore, we fasted forward to the last decade of the 20th century, when the media representation of Chechnya during two brutal separatist conflicts heavily influenced Russian public opinion. In order to analyze the contemporary brand of Chechnya we focused on Ramzan Kadyrov’s government, which was established in 2007 and it is still in charge nowadays. However, the analyzed material is related to a more limited timeframe, roughly comprised between October 2016 and April 2017.
Theoretical foundation. The theoretical foundations of our study lie
in the theory of nation branding, a relatively new field of study embracing elements of Marketing, Branding, Public Diplomacy, and National Identity Studies. In our overview of nation branding theory we relied upon the literature authored by experts in the field such as Simon Anholt and Keith Dinnie. To reconstruct the image of Chechnya in Russian literature and media, we relied on secondary sources. Academic articles by H. Ram were rather significant for our analysis of the representation of Chechnya in Russian 19th literature. Works by J. Russel and V. Tishkov provided us with extensive information on the media representation of Chechnya and Chechens during the last military conflict and their impact on the Russian public opinion.
Methods. Our research is founded on a mix of qualitative interviews and quantitative content analysis. In occasion of a short stay in Grozny in December 2016, we had the chance to interview two members of the Chechen administration: representative of the Ministry of information Islam Khatullev and Press Officer of the Chechen Government Committee of Tourism Murat Shakhidov. The interviews allowed us to identify the sources of nation branding for our content analysis: Ramzan Kadyrov’s activity on Vkontakte (Russian Facebook) and the ‘Komanda’ TV show featuring Ramzan Kadyrov as the protagonist. The content analysis, aimed at deconstructing Chechnya’s nation brand, was carried out by applying a readapted version of the Anholt’s Nation Brand Hexagon Model to the selected
media content.
Sample. As a sampling method for Kadyrov’s Vkontakte, we selected 200 recent posts, dividing them into two groups related to different timeframes. By analyzing separately the two groups, we could assess the degree of consistency in the content throughout time. Regarding ‘Komanda’, we considered the eight episodes making up the TV series, analyzing meaningful items of different lengths (from single sentences to longer thematic fragments).
Probation. In February this year, we presented an outline of our research during the conference: ‘Research on media and communications: theories, practices research perspectives’ (Исследования медиа и коммуникаций: теории, практики, исследовательские перспективы) held by the Faculty of Communications, Media and Design of the High School of Economics in Moscow. For its novelty and relevance our project was recognized as one of the best among those presented during the conference.
Structure. Our research consists of three chapters, each one including two paragraphs. In the first chapter we provided an overview of the theory of nation branding, focusing on the aspects we thought more relevant for our case study. In the very first paragraph we provided basic definitions from branding theory and we introduced the fundamental concepts of branding applied to places and nations. The second paragraph explores the constitutive elements of the nation brand according to Simon Anholt, the founder of nation branding theory. We also outlined the structure of the nation branding process, concluding the chapter with a comparison between nation branding and the related field of public diplomacy. The second chapter introduces the case study or object of research: the Autonomous Republic of Chechnya. In the first section of this chapter we provided a brief description of Chechnya from a geographic, demographic and cultural point of view, followed by an overview of the history of Russian-Chechen relations. The second section of the chapter is dedicated to a reconstruction of the portrayal of the Chechen nation in Russian culture. Drawing from Russian 19th century literary tradition we explored some of the first representations of Chechens as hostile and fundamentally aliens. Fasting forward to the end of the 20th century, we showed how Russian media coverage of the Chechen wars contributed in reinforcing preexisting stereotypes and generated new, more negative ones. The third and last chapter of our study is dedicated to our empirical analysis of nation branding practices in contemporary Chechnya. A first paragraph is dedicated to a description of the methods adopted and the existing limitations. Then we outlined the categories and sub-categories to be used as a framework in the content analysis. After providing the main results of the interviews with two members of the Chechen administration, we presented the results of our content analysis. Finally we carried out an interpretation of Chechnya’s brand in the light of its preexisting negative image, in the attempt to highlight elements of a nation branding strategy.
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In the course of our research we reconstructed the portrayal of the Chechen nation in Russian culture as well as analyzed current attempts to modify that image by means of nation branding practices. Drawing from secondary sources on Russian 19th century literature, we reconstructed an early image of Chechnya as Russia’s oriental ‘other’, a land inhabited by savage and violent people, unwilling to submit to Russian ‘civilizing mission’. These romantic stereotypes remained engrained in Russian culture for several decades of Soviet rule, until the revival of nationalism in the years of perestroika provided them with new strength. In the 90s, the perception of Chechens as criminals and savage became widespread, especially because of the media coverage of the first and second Chechen Wars. While during the first campaign government media portrayed Chechens as criminals and bandits and Chechnya as a lawless enclave, during the second war Chechens were commonly associated with Islamic terrorism. Negative stereotypes about the region and its inhabitants lingered on after the resolution of the crisis. In order to counter the negative brand image of Chechnya cultivated by the Russian audience, the Chechen administration has been actively promoting a new nation brand identity. Interviews with Chechen civil servants helped us to identify Ramzan Kadyrov as the main promoter of the Chechen brand, as well as the channels he has been using to communicate it to the Russian audience. Our analysis of the TV show ‘Komanda’ and Kadyrov’s Vkontakte page allowed us to outline the structure of the Chechen nation brand, pointing out its main features. The predominance of Culture and Governance reflects a strategy aimed at countering the preexisting negative brand image of Chechnya. In particular Patriotism counters the image of Chechens as separatists and fundamentally alien to Russians; Effective Administration and Enlightened Leadership counter the image of Chechnya as a lawless enclave ruled by bandits; Islam and War on Terror dismiss the image of Chechnya as a hotbed of Islamic terrorism. Cultural aspects like Sport, Family and Gender Values convey the image of a patriarchal traditional culture which is largely in tune with a significant part of Russian society. Finally, Wars and Reconstruction plays an important role in framing the events of the last Russian-Chechen conflict, transforming the main source of negative stereotypes into a positive narrative to be included in the brand. The predominance of reconciliatory elements in Kadyrov’s nation branding associates it with practices of public diplomacy. We believe this nation branding case study could serve as example for governments challenged by image crisis in the aftermath of inter¬ethnic and separatist conflicts. A rather obvious example is the case of eastern Ukraine, which in recent years has been the theater of an analogous crisis. The governments of the breakaway Donbass republics might find useful the example of Chechnya for rebranding their territory once a stable agreement with Kiev will be reached. Finally, our research represents a starting point for further investigations of nation branding practices applied to Chechnya. Indeed, a series of questions were left opened: how effective is Kadyrov’s nation branding strategy? In what degree Russian public opinion has been affected by it? Moreover, considering the central role played by Kayrov in branding Chechnya, further studies may question the legitimacy of such a centralized nation brand management and identify other possible stakeholders of the Chechen brand.
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