Prof. Natalya Ryabinska, Collegium Civitas lecturer, has published a groundbreaking article titled “Promoting or Shattering Populism: The Case of Political Comedy and Satire in Ukrainian Media” in the prestigious journal Problems of Post-Communism.

The paper examines the role of political comedy and satire in shaping attitudes toward politics in Ukrainian media. Prof. Ryabinska analyzed two popular Ukrainian television programs, Vecherniy Kvartal and #@)₴?$0, which aired during 2019–2020. Her findings reveal contrasting approaches: while Vecherniy Kvartal extensively employed populist narratives in its depiction of politics, #@)₴?$0 broke away from this framework by exposing the absurdities of populist rhetoric through humor.

Political comedy and satire play a significant role in influencing public attitudes toward politics. Prof. Ryabinska’s research demonstrates that media can serve as a tool both for promoting populism and for critically addressing it. This study is particularly relevant in the context of Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidency—a former comedian who rose to power with a campaign built on populist narratives.

This work was funded through a research grant awarded to Prof. Ryabinska by Collegium Civitas, as part of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s subsidy program for maintaining and developing research potential (PB/12/2022).

The full article is available online for readers whose institutions subscribe to Taylor & Francis content. The first 50 readers can also access a free copy of the article.