Is there a future for voter targeting online in Russia?

Abstract

The use of targeting as election technology in campaigns increases in western democracies with each electoral cycle, and every time new forms and methods are being applied. During the last presidential campaigns of B. Obama, D. Trump, and E. Macron, targeting was actively used to improve the effectiveness of the impact on the target audience of voters. The Russian school of political consulting traditionally uses new western technologies, adapting them to the nature of the political process in Russia. This article examines the pattern of usage of different targeting methods during campaigns in the State Duma elections. The research involves expert interviews with political consultants who were professionally connected to the planning and conduct of election campaigns. Internet targeting is gaining its popularity among Russian political consultants to carry out targeted work with some groups of voters in social media. The development is slower than that in Western countries due to the lack of tried-and-tested tools, high financial costs, and indifference to politics of most Russian web users. The prospects for using microtargeting in Russian political campaigns are somewhat ambiguous due to the existing legislative restrictions and, in general, the need itself for such an in-depth method of agitation.