Coronavirus pandemic in the modern Russian public discourse: threats, challenges and opportunities[Пандемия Коронавируса В Публичном Дискурсе Современной России: Угрозы, Вызовы И Возможности]

The paper discusses specific features of public discourse connected with the COVID-19 pandemic and political rhetoric of the Russian President under the conditions of the spread of coronavirus disease. Based on the quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the media and the speeches of the President of the Russian Federation, the main thematic blocks that present the pandemic as a social threat with economic, political and social consequences significantly changing people’s daily lives are identified. The article provides an overview of the recent publications devoted to coronavirus infection, identifies the dominant thematic clusters, and shows that the thematic repertoire and their emotional component varied at different stages of the virus spread. The features of representation of social fears related to coronavirus in the domestic media have been described and analyzed. The main topics related to information distortion have been identified. Due to the dominance of publications on epidemiological and medical risks, economic and socio-political risks, including those triggered by a number of measures and restrictions caused by the pandemic, have taken a back seat. The research revealed groups of metaphors that are most typical of various thematic clusters and it has become obvious that the metaphor of war and military operations dominate over the others. On the basis of the analysis of measures undertaken by the Russian Federation at different stages of coronavirus infection spread, the study identifies the main thematic blocks and dominant metaphors in V. Putin’s discourse strategies used in official speeches and addresses. The conclusion is made about the limited and closed nature of the President’s discourse as exclusively official, which was aimed at minimizing the spread of negative and pessimistic forecasts.