The Image of Russia : Comparison between representations in Russian English-speaking media and Global Media

Abstract: The thesis focuses on the analysis of representations of Russia in relation to the Nation Branding theory of Simon Anholt (Anholt, 2007, 2010). The empirical study examines the representation of the country in the output of Russian English-speaking media and transnational media. The aim of the research is to compare them in the end. The bidding process for the right to host World Football Cup 2018 is chosen as a case study.Previous research has shown that during similar events in other countries, even when there were attempts to manage the branding process and change the image of the country, transnational media have usually a critical approach to the coverage, while domestic outlets are more loyal and create more positive image to their country of origin. (Barr, 2011; Berger, 2010; Ding, 2011; Han, 2011; Latham, 2009; Manzenreiter, 2010; Hoppe, 2011)The theoretical framework of the study is based on the representation theory and the construction of meaning in media texts. The theoretical part uses works by Fairclough (1995), van Dijk (1991) and Hall (1997). It talks about the most important notions of the theory, discusses the ways meaning is constructed in articles and outlines linguistic and narrative tools that are the most important for the empirical study. Among them are metaphors, hyperboles, topics, actors and the usage of sources.The research has a mixed-methods approach and combines content-analysis and discourse analysis.The findings demonstrate that there is indeed a difference in the coverage by Russian English-speaking media and transnational media. They have different approaches to the tone and angle of the articles, as well as the representation of sources. Moreover, it is confirmed that transnational media have critical approaches to portraying Russia. They discuss problems of Russia in relation to hosting Football Championship and sometimes there are more negative propositions in global media’s texts. At the same time Russian media seem to be biased and willing to present Russia in a more optimistic way. They focus more on positive developments that Russian is going to go through and present it as a country that is ready for change.