A (Cold) War for Vaccines Retro-Conspiracism in Kremlin-Aligned Russian Discourse on Sputnik V

In August 2020, Vladimir Putin proudly reported “the world’s first-registered vaccine against the new Corona-virus”. Developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, it received the brand name “Sputnik V,” a nod to the pioneering Sputnik-1 satellite launched by the Soviets in 1957. The period following the announcement saw a steady outpouring of allegations leveled by, and at, Russia. Western governments and media outlets frequently denounced the Russian spread of fake news on traditional and online media platforms insisting on the health risks of Western-produced vaccines. Conversely, the Russian public was flooded with pro-Kremlin media stories on concerted efforts by Western governments, news agencies, and medical regulatory bodies to smear the country’s success, frustrate the Russian vaccine’s European certification, and delay its global rollout.

Focusing on the period between the summer of 2020 and the fall of 2021, this chapter discusses conspiracy-based interpretations of the fate of Sputnik V (and its “competitors”) in the global arena. It analyzes such vaccine conspiracism inRussian-language Kremlin-aligned television programs; in statements by political leaders; and on Sputnik’s official, multi-language website. Proposing the conceptual label “retro-conspiracism” for this state-sanctioned rhetoric, I argue that it derives its persuasiveness from a combination of conspiratorial interpretation (keen to unveil hidden intentions and concerted manipulations) and commemorative gestures, of which the Sputnik name is only the most obvious manifestation. On the one hand, retro-conspiracism borrows profusely from the contemporary lingo of a globalized conspiracy culture. On the other, it relies on affectively charged invocations of Soviet-era events, symbols, and explanatory paradigms, which are inserted into, or projected onto, the reading of current affairs.