Alexander Ermochenko\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In September, an organization called the Donbass Media Centre (DMC) opened its \u201cblogger school\u201d in Mariupol. It offers free two-week courses designed to give aspiring influencers a technical grounding in skills like filming and editing, as well as an understanding of how to gain popularity and make money online. <\/p>\n
Similar courses had already been held in Donetsk and Luhansk, and another followed in Melitopol, in the Russian-occupied part of Zaporizhzhia. Karbovsky was one of the teachers. <\/p>\n
The DMC was set up by Donbass Media, a pro-Russian news channel mostly operating on social media. In 2024, the DMC won a Runet Prize, a national award of the Russian Federation and Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives that celebrates excellence on the Russian internet. It also has a partnership with \u201cTop Blog,\u201d a competition for content creators run by a Kremlin program called \u201cRussia – Land of Opportunities.\u201d Last year, the most successful DMC students won a trip to Moscow to visit the headquarters of Vkontakte, Russia\u2019s version of Facebook. <\/p>\n
Vkontakte is among several Russian social media networks owned by state-run Gazprom-Media. The Kremlin has clamped down its control of social media in recent years, through ownership, internet slowdowns, and, more recently, legislation requiring influencers with over 10,000 followers to register their personal details with Russia\u2019s media regulator, Roskomnadzor. <\/p>\n
Karbovsky said the DMC\u2019s aims are not political. \u201cDMC does not have any such goal to create some sort of propagandists \u2013 no way. We don\u2019t need this,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want people to be able to share their different views about what is happening in the DPR (Donetsk People\u2019s Republic) and the LPR (Luhansk People\u2019s Republic) and other regions.\u201d <\/p>\n
The same month the DMC opened its \u201cblogger school\u201d in Mariupol, graduates of a Russian government program called \u201cThe New Media Workshop\u201d opened a media center in Mariupol to teach schoolchildren 14- to 17-years-old photography, filming and how \u201cto work in the social networks.\u201d The free program is funded in part by a Russian presidential grant worth around $12,000. Participants are encouraged to show the positive side of Mariupol. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe look forward to welcoming talented kids, so together we can talk about the life of our beloved city,\u201d reads an October Telegram post from the media center. In another, a participant in the course interviews children about how Mariupol has changed. \u201cIt\u2019s become much more interesting, more colorful,\u201d says one young girl. \u201cIt\u2019s developing quickly,\u201d her friend adds. <\/p>\n