Residual Orality in Russia and the Russo-Ukrainian War

This article studies the connection between residual orality and war propaganda in contemporary Russia. I study, based on the theories of Walter J. Ong, the influence of literacy and orality on culture and the claim that Russia is still a society with a high degree of residual orality, although, simultaneously, with an extremely high degree of exquisite literacy. I conclude that contemporary Russia preserves many of the formulas and stereotypes characteristic of oral societies and that this fact is of crucial importance for the support for the current war among the Russian population, especially since the age cohorts in favour of the war also seem to be the most sensitive to motifs characteristic of residual orality.