Ilya Yablokov joined the University of Sheffield in July 2021 as a Lecturer in Journalism and Digital Media at the Department of Journalism Studies. Previously, he has worked for six years at the University of Leeds (Department of Russian and East European Studies). Ilya’s sphere of research interests can be divided into two parts. The first concern is with the journalistic practices in the post-socialist countries, including media management, newsmaking in the digital age as well as (self)-censorship. The second concern is with the global circulation of conspiracy theories, disinformation in the digital age and the ways how disinformation can be used as the means of political communication.
Ilya’s recent monograph Russia Today and Conspiracy Theories: People, Power, Politics on RT (with Precious Chatterje-Doody) explores how Russian international broadcaster uses traditional and new media environments to spread disinformation on subnational, national and international levels. This work was spawned by Ilya’s previous research into conspiracy theories in Russia. His monograph Fortress Russia: conspiracy theories in the post-Soviet world (Polity, 2018) studied how political elites in post-Soviet Russia use conspiracy theories for political purposes and to boost social cohesion under Vladimir Putin. The Russian edition of this book entitled Russian culture of conspiracy was listed as the best non-fiction book of 2020 by the ‘Enlightener’ award committee.
Ilya’s research was featured in the number of international media, including The New York Times, Al-Jazeera, The Moscow Times, The Times, Open Democracy Russia, The Conversation, Meduza and BBC World Service.