This article analyzes political and social themes of Russia’s glossy magazines which
represent the few remaining public spaces for surviving freedom of speech and
expression in that post-communist country. As authoritarian nature of Russian political
system deepens, the democratic openings often appear in unexpected places. Content
analysis of two glamour monthlies, one (GQ-Russian Edition) intended for male audience,
another (Cosmopolitan-Russia) – for female readership, shows consistently oppositional
(anti-Putin) thrust of both publications, but also persistent political gender stereotypes.
Analysis of these publications, intended for Russia’s nascent urban class – traditionally
a social strata most associated with democratic impulses – provides an
important explanation behind recent democratic protest activities in Moscow and St.
Petersburg