Sergei A Samoilenko

Assistant Professor

strategic communication, crisis communication, political communication, public relations, reputation management, post-socialist studies

In addition to teaching and research, Sergei A. Samoilenko is focused on bridging academic and professional communities in the areas of political communication, public relations, and reputation management.

Sergei actively contributes to the development of communication education internationally. He is the past president of the Communication Association of Eurasian Researchers (CAER) established to facilitate former communication research and education in post-socialist societies. Sergei is a founding member of CARP, the Research Lab for Character Assassination and Reputation Politics. He is a co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Character Assassination and Reputation Management, and Handbook of Research on Deception, Fake News, and Misinformation Online.

Mason Media:

Selected Publications

Shiraev, E., Keohane, J., Icks, M., & Samoilenko, S. A. (2022). Character assassination and reputation management: Theory and applications. London/New York: Routledge.

Minielli, M., Lukacovic, M., Samoilenko, S. A., Finch, M. with Uecker, D. (2022). Communication theory and its application in post-socialist contexts. Lanham, MD, Lexington Books.

Minielli, M., Lukacovic, M., Samoilenko, S. A., Finch, M. with Uecker, D. (2021). Media and public relations research in post-socialist societies. Lanham, MD, Lexington Books.

Samoilenko, S.A., Icks, M., Keohane. J., & Shiraev, E. (2020). Handbook of character assassination and reputation management. London and New York: Routledge.

Chiluwa, I.E., & Samoilenko, S.A. (2019). Handbook of research on deception, fake news, and misinformation online. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. This edited volume was selected as a core reference title by IGI Global International Publisher in 2019 and 2020.

Expanded Publication List

Samoilenko, S. A. (2021). Character assassination: The sociocultural perspective. Journal of Applied Social Theory, 1(3), 186-205.

Compton, J., Wigley, S., & Samoilenko, S. A. (2021). Inoculation theory and public relations. Public Relations Review, 47(5), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.10211

Samoilenko, S. A. (2021). The cocreational view of character assassination. In C. H. Botan (Ed.), The handbook of strategic communication (pp. 76-90). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Samoilenko, S. A., & Erzikova, E. (2021). Public relations in Russia: Maturation, etatization, and calcification. In M. Minielli, M. Lukacovic, S. A. Samoilenko, M. Finch, with D. Uecker (Eds.), Media and public relations research in post-socialist societies (pp. 3-46). Lanham, MD, Lexington Press.

Samoilenko, S. A., & Laruelle, M. (2020). Character assassination as strategic communication in EU-Russia relations. In E. Pashentsev (Ed.), Strategic communication in EU-Russia relations: Tensions, challenges, and opportunities (pp. 135-160). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Samoilenko, S.A., & Karnysheva, M. (2020). Character assassination as modus operandi of Soviet propaganda. In P. Baines, N. O'Shaughnessy, & N. Snow (eds), The SAGE handbook of propaganda. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Samoilenko, S.A. (2019). Character assassination in the context of mediated complexity. In K. Sriramesh & D. Verčič (Eds.), The global public relations handbook: Theory, research, and practice (3rd Ed.). London and New York: Routledge.

Samoilenko, S. A. (2018). Strategic deception in the age of "truthiness." In I. Chiluwa (Ed.). Deception: Motivations, Recognition Techniques and Behavioral Control. New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Samoilenko, S.A. (2018). Subversion practices: From coercion to attraction. In E.J. Bridgen, & D. Verčič, D. (Eds.), Experiencing Public Relations: International voices (pp. 174-193). Routledge, London, UK.

Samoilenko, S.A., Erzikova, E., Davydov, S., & Laskin, A.V. (2017). Different media, same messages: Character assassination in the television news during the 2014 Ukrainian crisis. International Communication Research Journal, 52(2), 31-52.

Samoilenko, S.A., & Erzikova, E. (2017). Media, political advertising and election campaigning in Russia. In C. Holtz-Bacha and M.Just (Eds.), Handbook of Political Advertising (pp. 253-268). London: Routledge.

Samoilenko, S. A. (2016). Crisis management and communication research in Russia. In A. Schwarz, M. Seeger, & C. Auer (Eds.), The Handbook of International Crisis Communication Research (pp. 399-409). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.

Education

He received his master's and doctoral degrees in communication at George Mason University. He received his other master’s and a bachelor's degree in applied linguistics from Kuban State University in Russia.