“We” and “They” of Russian Emigrant Bloggers. Discourses about Presidential Election 2012

This article presents the results of a study that was conducted based on the analysis of Russian-speaking emigrant blogs. The study aimed at determining the set of group belongings (Turner et al., 1987; Baumeister & Leary, 1995) through the analysis of the deictic references “we”, “you”, “they” and their forms. The novelty of this approach consists in directing our attention to the emigrants’ relationship with their context of origin. The results show the bloggers of our study desire to ensure and strengthen their belonging to the large Russian group. The stories in the posts and the negotiations that emigrants conduct in the comments section reveal an “insecure” identity (Tajfel, 1974), as opposed to the “secure” and at times hostile attitude of Russian commentators living in Russia.