The Image of a Political Leader in the Media: Dynamics of Characteristics on the Background of the Transformation Processes in the Russian Federation

In the article, the authors analyze the dynamics of the formation of the image of a political leader in media publications in Russian language for 2013–2024. The key approaches to the study of the image of a leader were considered, and possible forms of representation of a leader in the media were described. The analysis of the use of the concepts of ‘statehood’, ‘globalism’, ‘charisma’, ‘morality’, ‘authoritarianism’ in the media in forming the image of a leader allows us to develop a psychosemantic typology of political leader images based on positive or negative connotations in the description of these characteristics. To form the image of the leader, the media most often used the concept of ‘statehood’, then the concept of ‘authoritarianism’, followed by the first with a significant lag. Other characteristics are much less common. The peak use of most of these characteristics in forming the image of the leader occurs in 2017–2019, an increase in the frequency of using the word ‘statehood’ has been recorded since 2015. An increase in interest in charisma and globalism is also
observed in 2020–2021. The listed characteristics are often instrumentalized by the media, as a result of which morality turns into an image resource for the leader, and charisma turns into a tool that gives advantages to a populist political leader in the competitive struggle.

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