Russia's foreign policy in the media

Abstract

The media in various formats play an unusually large role in the formation and conditioning of public opinion, as well as in social organization and mobilization. The Russian leadership sees mass communications as the most important arena of global politics, in which rival powers work to undermine each other and advance their own interests at the expense of others. Therefore, the ability to broadcast narratives to foreign audiences is considered a matter of national security, as is the ability to control the dissemination of narratives within the country. The Russian government has invested heavily in media resources that can get its message across to other countries, such as the RT news channel. This article is aimed at studying the contours of the Russian political worldview by analyzing the features of various Russian media. Throughout the Soviet era and to this day, the media played an important role in Russia's foreign policy. This form of soft power did not always aim to discredit the West or present itself in ideological opposition to the West; on the contrary, it sought first to present itself as a young democracy.