Perception of the image of the new leader of the LDPR political party by Russian social media users

The article presents the results of an assessment of the perception by Russian users of the image of the LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky in the social media space in 2022 after the death of the founder of the party Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Based on the data obtained in the course of cognitive mapping, automated social media analysis of information flows and event analysis, a number of weaknesses in the positioning of Leonid Slutsky as a party leader were identified, including the absence of real informational reasons, low user resonance, a small share of information occasions directly addressed to the public. The authors reveal that, first of all, Leonid Slutsky is not perceived by users as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party. The stability of the image of Vladimir Zhirinovsky plays an important role by in the minds of the population. The article offers recommendations for leveling each of the noted risks.