Fridge vs. TV

In discussions of the politics of Russia, the expressions "battle of the fridge vs. TV" (битва холодильника с телевизором), "refrigerator and TV set", etc., refer to the relative influence of the actual living conditions ("what's in the fridge") and state propaganda ("what's on TV") on the opinions of the ordinary population of Russia.[1][2][3]

In mid-2010s it appeared that the TV is winning. For example, while in 2015 polls the majority agreed that Russia is in crisis, the blame was commonly put on the West, rather than on the poor performance of the government.[1][4] The expression was among the entries for the 2015 Russian Word of the Year.[5]

The situation began to change around the 2021 Russian protests.[6]

Still, the very existence of the witticism indicates that the grip of the state propaganda is incomplete yet. [7]

References

  1. ^ a b Andrey Kolesnikov, Russia's War: Fridge vs. TV The Moscow Times, October 25, 2015
  2. ^ Телевизор против холодильника, Echo of Moscow, February 17, 2016
  3. ^ Peter Pomerantsev, Nathan Gamester, The TV vs. the Fridge Foreign Policy, December 2, 2015
  4. ^ Битвы холодильника с телевизором нет, Московский Центр Карнеги (Carnegie Endowment Moscow Center)
  5. ^ Michelle A. Berdy, Russia's Winning Words Of the Year 2015, December 31, 2015
  6. ^ Kramer, Andrew E. (January 31, 2021). "Russia's Economic Slump Erodes Consensus That Shielded Putin". New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  7. ^ The TV vs the fridge: A Russian joke shows why Putin's propaganda isn't working on his own people, Business Insider
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