UNDER THE INFLUENCE
DASHA SMIRKS AT THE CAMERA AND SAYS IN A BABY VOICE: “HI, I MISSED YOU ALL.” It is 11 March, a couple of weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, and the blond 19-year-old Moscow-based influencer with 126,000 Instagram followers is posting to her stories. “I wasn’t on social media for over a week and I want to talk about my news and the news of the world,” she says.
After taking a weekend trip to a friend’s dacha in the countryside, Dasha posts videos of her friends laughing, making pancakes or playing party games. The atmosphere is warm, the alcohol flowing. The next tile shows Dasha looking solemnly at her phone. “I was constantly watching the news to understand what was going on in the world and one thought wouldn’t escape my mind …” she writes. Next tile: “Maybe I should leave Russia?” in bold red letters. In smaller black text underneath, she elaborates: “At least for a little bit of time, until the situation calms down and we have a better understanding.” There is a question box for followers to answer: “What do you think about this?”
Does Dasha’s concern about “world news” extend to criticism of Putin’s war in Ukraine? Not exactly. Later, she clarifies for her followers that what prompted her to consider leaving Russia is the potential hit to her income now that the Russian government is blocking access to Instagram. She also worries that the military situation might mean someone called Denis, whom I take to be her boyfriend, could be conscripted into the army.
On her TikTok page she appears to briefly participate in a trend associated with nationalist messaging. In a video featuring the Soviet folk song Katyusha, Dasha writes: “I hope my position is clear ” and adds the Russian flag and heart emojis. She later deletes the video.
Russia is home to a thriving community of influencers and content creators, who live a life
