The relevance of the study stems from the need to comprehend the current historiographical landscape and identify thematic focal points in the study of ideology and propaganda. The paper emphasizes the specifics of the topic under investigation, which is not always explicitly declared at the level of a dissertation’s title. Nevertheless, a considerable number of researchers interpret sources in the context of ideological struggle or the conflict of propaganda narratives in society. The article presents an analysis of doctoral dissertations defended in Russia between 2014 and 2022, whose topics are related to the history of ideology and propaganda. It is established that this thematic content is predominantly reflected in studies of Russian history of the Modern and Contemporary periods, while the approach to materials from the Russian Empire and the USSR differs significantly. It is shown that the study of ideology and propaganda in Imperial Russia is polarized between research on Russian conservatism and countercultural movements. In contrast, the Soviet period is primarily examined in the context of developing an effective mechanism of state propaganda. Based on the analysis of statistical data, the key characteristics of dissertation research conducted within this scholarly field are identified. It is demonstrated that authors often frame the relevance of their dissertation topics through the lens of the state’s domestic and foreign policy. The paper provides both quantitative and qualitative data on the number of dissertation defences, indicating a decline in interest in this area by the late 2010s, as well as a peak in interest observed in 2016–2017.
scientometrics, history of historiography, historical scholarship in contemporary Russia, dissertation culture, doctoral dissertations.