A Creative History of the Russian Internet

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Creativity theories have not been much used in Internet research. This study attempts to compensate for this omission by applying concepts and methods of creativity research to the study of Internet culture. It seeks to discover the internal logic of the development of creative forms, to identify the factors that account for change and to analyse the relationship between Internet creativity and wider sociocultural contexts. The concept of Internet creativity is applied to the study of the history of the Russian Internet. Case studies are devoted to the development of online media, an artistic genre, an online community and a humorous web site. The theoretical issues include the role of cultural identity and social context as a shaping force of Internet culture; motivation for creativity; user contribution, collaboration and the interplay between personal and collective creativity; the opposition between the official and the non-official spheres; issues of censorship and free speech. The study will be useful to creativity theorists, Internet producers, or anyone interested in contemporary Russian culture.