Migration and migration policy in the Russian mass media

Abstract

This text presents the results of an analysis on the coverage of migration issues by the Russian mass media. The author comes to the conclusion that migration policy is examined by the Russian mass media within the context of domestic political confrontation, and that the political orientation of a publication predetermines its approach to the coverage of migration issues. In the majority of articles, an emotional description of migration issues and the construction of a negative perception of migrants by public opinion are prevalent. Mass media relay stereotypes of the public conscience with its rooted xenophobic moods. In the Russian information space, alarmist moods are dominant, transforming the discussion of migration issues into a discourse of crisis and a discourse of trauma.