Substitution of Notions of “Russia” and “U.S.S.R” in “The New York Times” Newspaper (1946-1991)

The frequency of mentioning the words Russia , Soviet Union , Soviet Russia and U.S.S.R in the American press is in order considered to analyze the stereotypical views of Americans about our country during the cold war. As a source the articles published in the daily newspaper “The New York Times” in the period from 1946 to 1991 are used. The authors analyzed more than 40 000 newspaper articles. The hypothesis about the relation between the frequency of use of various country nominations and the formation of stereotypes about it is offered. The research methodology is based on the statistical analysis of the use of the words Russia , Soviet Union , Soviet Russia and U.S.S.R in “The New York Times” publications. It is revealed that during the cold war the frequency of using the word Russia in this newspaper exceeds the frequency of using the word U.S.S.R 10 times, that, according to the authors, leads to the conclusion about the substitution of notions, which is expressed in the identification of pre-revolutionary Russia and the Soviet Union. It is shown that in the future there was a reverse process: during the period of tension of political relations, the image of Russia began to be replaced in American newspaper publications by the image of the USSR, which in the minds of Americans is closely connected with the cold war

“Russian Bear” - the Dynamics of Changes in the Image of Russia in the World

The process of forming and changing the image of Russia-bear is analyzed. English, French, Polish, American and Georgian caricatures, engravings and lithographs, which appeared in the period from the second half of the 18th century to the present day, are used as sources. The problem of forming the image of Russia abroad is considered from the point of view of imagology and information warfare. The process of changing the image of Russia-bear is described depending on the political situation, on the direction and propagandistic goals of the printed publications. The study revealed that the associations of Russia with the image of the bear are extremely strong and acquired the status of a stereotype long ago. It is noted that this image has been successfully used as a weapon of political propaganda since the XVIII century. It is shown that the image of the "Russian bear" in the Western media constantly changes on the basis of the current political situation on the international arena. The authors assert that this image is practically not developed in the Western media in the context of constructive alignment of international relations, the destructive component of the image is usually emphasized. It is reported that, since 1977, attempts have been made in Russia to positivize the image of the bear in foreign media, but they have not been successful to the present day

Image of Soviet Union in the world: factors and dynamics of perception

The article analyses the formation of the country’s image in the world since the 1917 revolution up to the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. Special attention is paid to the role of the historical stereotypes of Russia in this process as well as the new factors which can alter the attitude to the country and to its contribution to the world progress. Having examined many different sources, the author reveals the nature and mechanisms of several propaganda campaigns for the formation of the image of the USSR and its leaders

Lenin as Politician and Person in Latest Researches

The article analyzes the main stages and trends of studying Lenin as a politician and a person. Great attention is paid to the Russian and foreign researches of the last quarter of the century starting from the late 1980s up to now, to the new trends of the political figure comprehension- his cult and charisma, phenomenon of leaderism. The author explains the causes of the new wave of Lenin's apologetics as well as irrational interest in him, considers the perspectives of further studies of the revolutionary and reformer

PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS AND COGNITIVE SCHEMES IN MODERN INFORMATION WAR FARE

The article examines a typology of information wars, and basing on it, analyses methods of influencing minds or actions of people. Its special focus is on transformation of information space and manipulation of public opinion. Personalization, dichotomous thinking, selective abstraction, catastrophezation and other methods are viewed among cognitive schemes that can define behavioral strategies