Folklore Lecture by Dr. Olga Zaitseva Herz — Post-Event

On March 20, 2026, Olga Zaitseva-Herz examined the role of popular music as a tool of propaganda and soft power during Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine in her Folklore Lecture series presentation “When songs go to war: Pop music, propaganda, and digital soft power in Russia’s war on Ukraine”. Moving beyond the idea of music as mere cultural background, Dr. Zaitseva-Herz argued that songs function as active agents in contemporary information warfare, shaping emotions, legitimizing violence, mobilizing audiences, and normalizing political narratives. Drawing on case studies from both Ukrainian resistance music and Russian state-aligned cultural production, her talk explored how pop songs circulate through digital platforms, social media, and algorithmic infrastructures, reaching domestic and international audiences in real time.

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