Diffusion as discourse of danger: Russian self-representations and the framing of the Tulip Revolution

The coloured revolutions, including the Tulip Revolution, have exerted influences on Russian self-representations. At the same time, Russian self-identifications provided the framework within which meaning was attributed to the colour revolutions - they shaped the way in which the 'wave', and the Tulip Revolution within it, was framed. In general, the Tulip Revolution did not have the same resonance in Russian public discourse as the Rose, and in particular, Orange Revolutions, mostly because Ukraine had a place in Russian self-representations that Kyrgyzstan did not. Nevertheless, it crucially enabled a reading of the 'wave' as a wave of disorder and extremism, something that again resonated with Russian self-representations, as it re-confirmed a discourse of 'Russia in danger' that has persisted in Russian self-representations since 1991.