TY  - JOUR
AU  - Resh, Valeriia
AU  - Maeseele, Pieter
JF  - Javnost-The Public
TI  - This Material Concerns the Activities of “Foreign Agents”: The Construction of “Foreign Agents” in Russian Media Discourse
VL  - 33
IS  - 1
PY  - 2026
SN  - 1854-8377
PB  - EURICOM
UR  - https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19641903
N2  - Since the invasion of Ukraine, the “foreign agent” legislation is one example of the further tightening of restrictive discriminatory legislation of Putin’s regime in attempts to restrain, silence and criminalise opposition and dissenting views from the public sphere and discourse. Starting from the multidisciplinary approach of critical discourse analysis (CDA), this study investigates the construction of media discourse on “foreign agents” by two state-affiliated outlets (Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Komsomolskaya Pravda) and one independent, alternative (Meduza) during three subsequent time frames from February 2022 to March 2024. The dom- inant discourse in state-owned and affiliated media signifies compliance and governmen- tal alignment aimed at delegitimisation, stigmatisation and exclusion of “foreign agents”. Meduza challenges the dominant discourse and aims to (re)define the prevailing narratives, expose injustice, and contest the current socio-political conjuncture, ultimately urging for civic engagement and change. The paper concludes by reflecting on the dual use of language in authoritarian contexts as both a mechanism of control and repression and an instrument of resistance and contestation at the same time.
U1  - Print ISSN: 1318-3222
ER  -