Afstudeerproject 2018

Engineers of the soul

On March 18th, 2018, Russian presidential election took place. Vladimir Putin has become the president for the fourth time, breaking the previous record with 77% of the votes. His campaign didn’t include much personal involvement or presence, – Russian media has been working on his popularity for years.

‘Engineers of the Soul’ is an investigation into the news reports shown by 4 federal TV-channels within a week before the elections. By collecting and categorising this footage I am able to paint a picture of how state propaganda occurs on television, hiding behind supposedly objective narratives. Just like social realism painting in the USSR, it creates a scripted version of reality that works in the state’s best interests.