Area Studies Online? Opportunities and Challenges When Researching "Digital Russia" during the War on Ukraine

Abstract

This article addresses the question of how do we conduct ethically sound research in the context of an increasingly violent regime? One possible solution is digital tools since the Russian part of the internet is generally open and there are fewer data protections than found elsewhere. This situation presents ethical questions that must be addressed. Most importantly, while users may communicate openly and "publicly" online, they might still expect this communication to be kept private. Studying Russia's online space also requires addressing issues of censorship and efforts to manipulate information flows.