Perm ‘Overheard’ Communities: The Role in the Urban Information Space

The study focuses on the role that online groups of Podslushano (Overheard) type play in the formation of the information space of the city of Perm. The paper gives an overview of the cultural and historical origins of this type of groups in Russia, analyzes the factors that influenced their emergence and evolution (Dmitry Medvedev's presidency, the COVID-19 pandemic, the SVO in Ukraine, the recognition of Facebook and Instagram social networks as extremist, the stimulation of interest in VKontakte and Odnoklassniki social networks, etc.). The paper elucidates the structure, functions, and role of groups of the Overheard type in Perm. The study identifies leading groups first in the city (as well as those adjacent to them, forming the two largest Overheard systems of the city) and then in each of the city’s districts (Leninsky, Dzerzhinsky, Sverdlovsky, Motovilikhinsky, Industrialny, Ordzhonikidzevsky, Kirovsky). Using Popsters, a social network statistics service, the indicators for each of the groups were established (the number of subscribers, posts, reposts, comments, views); these data for each of the districts are compared in tables. A separate table provides information on the most significant Overheard communities in the micro districts of Perm. The paper compares how active the communities of different districts are. This comparison shows that the groups are more active the farther they are from the cultural and administrative center of the city. This conclusion is confirmed by an analysis of the communities of remote micro districts. When comparing the role of the news media and the information-communication groups in VKontakte in the information field of Perm, it is noted that communities of the Overheard type cover a huge field of social, cultural, psychological problems that are not addressed by the authorities or are not of interest to the media due to their small scale, but nonetheless constitute pressing issues for local communities.