‘New ethics’ in Russian fashion magazines: Discussing ‘western-ness’, Russian-ness and values

Abstract

This article analyses the discourse around ‘new ethics’ in Russia’s two lifestyle and fashion publications – Vogue Russia and The Blueprint. The ‘new ethics’ is a vague term which, by the late 2010s in Russia, had come to refer to a whole spate of disparate initiatives, attitudes and ethical norms, including sustainability, diversity and inclusion, the #MeToo movement and anti-racist practices. Remarkably, the discourse around the ‘new ethics’ has gained currency at a time when the Russian state urges Russians to embrace ‘traditional values’ that are rooted in Orthodox Christianity. Employing qualitative analysis of texts and images this article demonstrates that, in Russian fashion and lifestyle magazines, the ‘new ethics’ discourse has emerged as a site for negotiating women’s and queer rights, ‘traditional’ and ‘western’ values, as well as Russian state politics, while simultaneously providing a way for the publications to disassociate themselves from the state-promoted values.