Autocratic Disaster Management in Russia: How the Russian State Reacts on Forest Fires – A Case Study

Abstract

The paper investigates how the Russian authoritarian regime managed two disastrous forest fires episodes Russia experienced in 2010 and 2021. It identifies key characteristics of the authoritarian forest fires management, as well as performs content analysis in order to identify the common features and the peculiarities of the forest fires management in both cases. It covers both response to disasters and the subsequent recovery. The paper both identifies the key characteristics of the official communication regarding forest fire management and looks at the general discourse about two forest fires episodes in the Russian media, including the role of different levels of the bureaucratic hierarchy in combatting forest fires and organizing recovery.