PhD student Khaldarova Irina

15000 €

Strategic narratives constructed by the Russian television around the crisis in Ukraine

Tieteellinen tutkimus / siihen pohjautuva työ | Yksivuotinen

The power of actors in contemporary conflicts is no longer defined only by military equipment but by the public support at home and within the area of operations. Russia has mastered the ability to conduct an information war, as shown during its conflict with Ukraine, in which media has been in a key position. In this context, the concept of strategic narratives has become relevant as they are used to construct activities, themes and messages in a compelling story line with the aim of explaining events, obtaining legitimacy and gaining public support. This research has the overall goal of examining the strategic narratives built around the Ukrainian crisis in the Russian television news. Two channels are selected for the study due to their exceptional role in the media landscape of Russia: Channel One as one of the most popular channels inside Russia, and RT that broadcasts Russia’s perspective to the international audience. To accomplish the goal the study is divided into three parts: comparative study (to contrast the narratives produced by two media); retrospective study (to explore the narratives also as a process), and Internet study (to track the narratives in Internet environment). These three parts add “depth” and “breadth” dimensions to the analytical spectrum of the project.