ДИНАМІКА ОБРАЗУ КРАЇНИ В ПРЕЗИДЕНТСЬКОМУ ДИСКУРСІ (ЗА МАТЕРІАЛАМИ ЩОРІЧНИХ ПОСЛАНЬ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА РФ)

Abstract

Constructivist approach to international politics has been gaining ground, emphasizing the role of shared ideas in shaping state behavior. The state identity is determined primarily by shared ideas rather than material forces, and that the identities and interests of purposive actors are constructed by these shared ideas rather than given by nature. The official political discourse has been tracing the dynamics of the image and correlate it with the ideas the mass consciousness. The valued sources on the subject "What is Russia?" are annual Presidents' Missives to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation since 1994. The Presi-dents have addressed Missives 22 times yet. Content-analysis of the presidential texts has allowed to fix the basic characteristics of «the image of Russia» not only as "Russian state" but as an international actor (the external aspect of the image). The official discourse has been adapting to the myths and ideologies rooted in the mass consciousness of Russians.