A Creative History of the Russian Internet

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.