Ermolaeva Yu. V. Structural Analysis of the Transformation of Interaction Between Volunteers, the State, and NGOs: The Case of the Fuel Oil Spill in the Kerch Strait Based on Discourse Analysis of Federal Media. DOI: 10.25634 ...

Текст статьи на сайте журнала URL: https://journal-mirbis.ru/02-2026v/02-2026-metedata/#593 (дата обращения 29.09.2026)

Abstract

The The article presents a sociological structural analysis of the interaction among volunteers, government agencies, and NGOs during the response to the fuel oil spill in the Kerch Strait. The study is based on a discourse analysis of 85 federal media publications from December 2024 to February 2026, employing environmental discourse analysis and framing analysis. The Kerch Strait disaster acted as a catalyst for profound structural transformation in volunteering across four dimensions.Institutionally, there was a shift from marginalization to integration: volunteers were recognized as equal participants in the emergency management system, centralized registration and coordination platforms were established, and hybrid governance structures emerged. In the normative sphere, changes occurred from a lack of regulation to codification: mandatory safety and training standards were introduced, and a “normative infrastructure” for volunteering was consolidated, ensuring trust and scalability of civic initiatives. Technologically, new solutions were developed and implemented, gained official status, and were scaled to other regions, demonstrating a mechanism for knowledge transfer from disaster zones to the national system. Culturally and ideologically, there was a shift from viewing volunteering as exceptional altruism to understanding it as a civic duty: media representations evolved from the image of a lone hero to that of a “civilian defender,” volunteers received recognition and public attention, and a new collective identity and field were established. Emergency situations remain a field where normativity is difficult to strengthen due to their individual characteristics; traditionally, the organization of processes, redistribution of roles, resources, and social capital remain central to debate.