How does a media outlet’s affiliation with an autocracy shape the gendered language it uses to frame collective memory? Analyzing coverage of the Soviet past in four post-Soviet states, I show that autocratic regimes, through state-affiliated and oligarchic media, embed gendered discourse and positive sentiment more deeply into narratives of the past than independent outlets do. This pattern reflects how autocracies leverage both collective memory and gendered narratives as powerful tools of legitimacy and control. By quantitatively measuring the semantic proximity between Soviet memory and gendered terms in 200,000 newspaper articles, my research demonstrates that the politics of collective memory and gendered discourse are central to how autocracies approach information politics and sustain their authority.
