Representation in the Russian Media of the Current State of Relations Between Iraq and the United States

Abstract

The situation of Iraq's dependence, which arose after the intervention of the United States and the pro-American coalition in Iraq in 2003, is gradually being overcome, which requires adequate media representation in the Russian media. However, there are currently no comprehensive studies of the reaction of domestic media to what is happening in a friendly country – the Republic of Iraq. The purpose of this work is to study the representation of Iraq in major Russian media, which play a key role in shaping public opinion among Russians. The paper reveals the problem of forming a Russian media discourse that represents the reaction of the Russian press to the ongoing processes that are of great importance for strengthening and developing ties and cooperation between the Iraqi state and Russia. As a result of the study, it was revealed that in the publications of the Russian media, interest in the news representation of events related to Iraqi-American relations prevails, priority is given to news about the actions of the Shiite resistance forces against US military bases on Iraqi soil. Among Russian newspapers, Kommersant pays the most close attention to the situation in Iraq and the current state of Iraqi-American relations. The leader among electronic media in covering this issue is the Izvestia information TV channel - iz.ru . The trend in publications is to support the just demands of the Iraqi side regarding the withdrawal of American troops from the country, but at the same time, contradictions on this issue exist in the Iraqi elite. The leading Russian media demonstrate a friendly attitude towards Iraq in its struggle for the restoration of sovereignty.