Modern political image of Russia in Norway (on media coverage)

Image is a certain object, formed in the mind of the agent or the subject of perception. Image may emerge spontaneously, but at the same time deliberately formed by various means and methods. For a long time the image problem has been actively developed in the field of economics and business interactions. The article represents the particular research on the formation of professional (politics, teachers, doctors, etc.) and corporate image of economic image areas and regions. However, the researchers are very fragmentary in considering problems that affect the image of the nation and the state. However, a favorable perception of the country in the eyes of the world is the key to building trust in it, significantly expands the possibilities of international cooperation, promotes foreign investment and is an essential tool to protect its national interests. In modern conditions the practice of so-called humanitarian intervention is a positive image of a certain guarantee of interference in the internal affairs of the country. In turn, appealing to the international community the image of the country is the most important instrument of the “soft” power and promotes the growth of authority and influence on the world stage.

In the context of the Cold War and the closed Soviet society the image of Russia abroad was mostly negative and was artificially formed and politically engaged by the Western media. At present, these stereotypes of the country are not only preserved, but also are artificially inflated due to a separate and independent policy of V.V. Putin. However, under conditions of intense formation of a global information and communication space, expanding the network of relationships and interactions is not only on the interstate, but also inter-regional and transnational levels are significantly expanded the opportunities to build a comprehensive and integrated vision of Russia in the international space.

Significance of the study is in the context of the country due to the fact that the purposeful formation of a positive image in promising directions for Russia's foreign policy and significantly expands the possibilities of cross-border dialogue and cooperation and creates favorable conditions for the establishment and strengthening the inter-state unions, promotes the expansion of integration processes. In this light it seems to be very significant to study the perception of Russia in Norway — an important ally and rival of our country in a strategically important region of the world — the Arctic.

Russia and Norway are long-standing international partners and for decades they had close relationships not only on the interstate, but also on the inter-regional and cross-border levels. Russian-Norwegian contacts originate from the time of Veliky Novgorod. These countries were actively cooperating in the framework of the Barents Euro-Arctic area and the Arctic Council. Accordingly, the perception of Russia in Norway is largely formed on the basis of a direct experience of social interaction. However, it is important to study the problem in connection to the media coverage, which is an important tool for shaping the public opinion and often reflects the perceived attitude to the country at the government level.

Historiography of the problem is represented by a significant body of scientific literature on the theoretical aspects of the question. Today there are some successful attempts made on the conceptual understanding of the essence of the definition of “image”, attempts to identify ways and mechanisms of its formation, to explore Russia's image around the world. The general framework of the research could be divided into two categories: work, affecting the theoretical aspects the territory’s image, the international image of the state and its formation; studies devoted to the analysis of the perception of Russia as an example of specific country, and, finally, the research and development related to the image of Russia in Norway.

Analysis of the image in the general theoretical aspect can be found in the works of S. Anholt [1], I.S. Vazhenina [2], A.E. Kiryunin [3], I.Y. Kiselev [4], F. Kotler [5], A.P. Pankrukhin [6] A.V.

Popov [7], I.J. Rozhkov [8]. A.V. Popov and I.S. Vazhenina focused on the understanding the nature and structure of the image of the territory, presenting widely different approaches to the definition of the concept. Considerable interest to the topic reveled by S. Anholt, F. Kotler and A.P. Pankrukhin who developed branding and marketing approaches to the formation of the country's image. Marketing of places aims to create a positive perception of relations between subjects to certain "place". In this approach usually contains of some isolated components like the image of the country as a place of attractions, infrastructure or population. In S. Anholt’s approach a great attention is paid to the reputation, with the view to create an image that almost replaces reputation. The main strategic objective of national branding is determined by the creation, updating and maintenance of the positive associations of the country. Such studies could form an idea on how to design the mechanisms and specific image areas. Dignity of I.J. Rozhkov and B. Kismereshkina’s work is its manufacturability. The authors analyze a wide range of modern advertising and communication technologies applicable to the city, region and country.

Significant interest to the topic could be found in the research devoted to understanding the role and place of the State's image on the world stage, attempts to identify the current international image of Russia, the strategy of its formation and transformation [9; 10; 11; 12; 13]. These are studies of E. Galumova and L.F. Adilova which represent an analysis of the perception of Russia abroad, the causes of failures of modern image policy of the Russian Federation.

The study of theoretical and methodological origin is highly significant, as determined by the algorithm of execution of subsequent works on the example of specific regions and countries. Currently, however, the image of Russia in the context of the country represented is isolated [14]. Moreover, the authors of this article were unable to identify any significant works devoted to the image of Russia in the Nordic countries and in Norway in particular.

Without claiming to be exhaustive coverage of the issue in a limited part of the article, we attempt to identify the current political image of Russia based on the research done in Norway. The major sources of the study are periodicals issued in Norway. The authors identify and analyze the set of articles highlighting the major events in Russia, the problem of Russian-Norwegian relations, cooperation and rivalry. Among the analyzed print media are the newspapers «VG», «Dagbladet», «Aftenposten», «Saltenposten» for the period January 2008 — October 2014, read from the official websites of these periodicals (vg.no, dagbladet.no, aftenposten.no and saltenposten.no respectively). These sources allow us to characterize the individual components of political image, to reconstruct a holistic view of the current image of Russia in Norway.

The components of the political image of the country

According to the authors, the political image of the country is a set of beliefs and feelings of people that appear due to the political circumstances on a particular territory. Its main components are:

• 4-    The image of a political leader, including his appearance, style of behavior and manners, the method of political decision-making, moral qualities, etc.

• 4-    The assessment of the political and legal system, the degree of development of democracy and the foundations of civil society, political freedom and freedom of speech.

• 4-    The notion of the political culture of the people, its civil, political and electoral activity.

• 4-    Analysis of the political decisions and actions that the country is making on the international arena.

Continuous analysis of the articles in that paper shows that 177 articles are dedicated to the Russian theme, 110 of them are focused on the political aspects of the Russian reality. It is obvious that the Russian theme occupies a significant place in the Norwegian periodicals, but not a prior one. Political events in Russia resonate in Norwegian editions only when they receive a global resonance, or directly related to the interests of Norway.

A clear differentiation of the articles on their value of judgments is extremely complex, since the same event is treated differently in various publications. However, the content analysis shows that the vast majority of publications is done for informational purposes only, or consists of the attempts to look at the problem through the prism of Western countries and from the point of view of Russia. There are publications, which contain of only positive or negative characteristics.

Russia is criticized for joining the Crimea, for the so-called policy of supporting the separatists in eastern Ukraine, spy scandals and environmental pollution. Russian law against the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors in 2013 was another topic for the negative evaluations of Russia. The positive articles include the discussions of V.V. Putin’s personality, who is portrayed as a strong-willed leader. Norwegian media also appreciates the Russian-Norwegian cooperation in the military and economic spheres.

Considering the place and role of the President of Russia V.V. Putin's government, the authors of articles pay great attention to the political opposition in Russia and the disconnection between the population and the Russian government. It is noted that in 2012 fines for minor offenses had increased dramatically, and the parliament passed a law that expands the range of penalties under the Article on “treason” 1. Dissatisfaction was caused by the new law that allows the government to block websites. Norwegian human rights organizations were asking the Norwegian authorities to put pressure on Russia, so that it would create more opportunities for the development of civil society. Among the positive aspects of the Putin regime the newspaper «VG» named the anti-smoking law in 2013, which is designed to protect the health of citizens of the state from passive smoking and the negative effects of tobacco use.

Putin stands in the Norwegian media, on the one hand, as a strong political leader with a firm will, but at the same time, as a person prone to get rid of potentially dangerous competitors. In particular, the victims of the political line of V. V. Putin represented by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was allegedly convicted on the formal charges of tax evasion, Boris Berezovsky, who fled to London, the group “Pussy Riot”, sentenced to prison, and arrested Peter Pavlensky. It is noted that the Russian channel TV “Rain”, who had the courage to speak out against the existing government, was not closed for the sole reason that it was the only independent cable television channel in Russia.

• V.V. Putin is portrayed as a politician, not perceived the fair criticism of Russia and himself as President, having in his arsenal of impact on the society only certain legal or economic sanctions. This is confirmed by the following quotes:

• >    “Among those who will soon be released, two members of the punk band “PussyRiot”, who were sentenced to two years in prison for criticizing Putin”².

• >    “Mass demonstrations were very surprising and, no doubt, is the most commonly over 10 years of Putin's power as the most powerful leader of the country”³.

• >    “Vladimir Putin entered the third presidential term in Russia, to tighten its control over civil society in the country”⁴.

In general statements the politics and personality of the President of Russia could be characterized as negative, although there were positive and neutral expressions. In Norwegian newspapers «VG» and «Dagbladet» V.V. Putin appears as a strong political leader with an authoritarian management style, who restored the country's economy, took the efforts to raise world prices for oil and gas. According to the authors of publications, he always keeps calm on public, confident defending his point of view. However, Martin Paulsen from the University of Bergen says, the paradox that V.V. Putin divorced his wife and started a relationship with another woman and as the President for more than 10 years has advocated traditional family values. “For Putin it is important to look as a strong energetic person. He has some similarities with Silvio Berlusconi ... Putin acts as a ruthless politician. He is the result of the KGB school ...”, — said M. Paulsen5.

A considerable number of articles were devoted to the assessment of political culture and political and legal system in Russia, the degree of development of democracy and the foundations of civil society, political freedom and freedom of speech.

A series of articles described the illegal actions of Russian citizens: tax evasion, corruption and violent crimes. Mentioned US sanctions in terms of Magnitsky Act (Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act) and Russian counter sanctions aimed to ban American citizens to adopt Russian children, suspecting the United States in violation of human rights and not without reason, as the other Norwegian article gives an example of violent behavior of adoptive parents towards three year old Maxim Kuzmin6. The article “Russisk politi anklages for voldtekt og drap” describes the Kazan police not always legal brutality against detainees7. As an example, the article contains of a few cases of beating and raping. It is noted that law enforcement officers were using illegal methods to get confession from any innocent people.

It is well known that the Norwegian authorities are very concerned about environmental issues. There is the growing number of publications about the actions of “Greenpeace” and Russia's policy acts towards them. In these articles it is noted that the transnational environmental organization was concerned with the security in connection with the beginning of Russian oil exploration in the Arctic. Arctic Advisor of “Greenpeace” Erlend Telnes did not exclude the possibility of an oil accident, and commissioning of offshore ice-resistant fixed Gazprom’s platform “Prirazlomnaya” calls the time bomb8. He considered it illegal, and noted that, apparently, “the

Russian authorities are ready to go far to hide risky plans of drilling and production of oil from the public”9.

Russia's actions caused a negative reaction from members of the “Greenpeace” and Norway, which does not allow the oil drilling in ice-covered areas. “It makes no sense to extract oil in one of the most vulnerable waters in the world. Norway condemns Russia for the fact that we do not provide full protection of the Arctic Ocean” — writes in a statement the head of the “Greenpeace” in Norway Truls Gulovsen10.

Russian law against the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors in 2013 is another topic of a heated debate in the Norwegian media. The author of the publication in the newspaper “Dagbladet” believed that a broad discussion of the bill by the Russian public had been carefully planned to divert the public opinion from the economic crisis in Russia, and V. Putin got the support of the Orthodox Church in the elections. “This is a statement about the sexual conservatism was not done by accident, part of Putin's speech was devoted to Russia's foreign policy strategy, especially in relation to the Middle East and Africa. Putin wants to build a coalition of socially conservative states, connected to each other with their hostility towards non-traditional sexual relations”, — stated the article11.

The publications indicate that in August 2013 10,000 Danish people protested against the new Russian law, which, in their opinion, violated human rights. Russian journalist Anton Krasovsky and British actor Wentworth Miller denounced the law as a whole and policies of V.V. Putin in particular. Most publications were considering this issue in conjunction with the main event last winter — the Olympics. Statements against the new law were made by such stars of the world sport, as B. Miller and B. Shellerud who said that “it is inconvenient when there are countries and people who are so intolerant and ignorant”12. They believe that Russia does not care about the meaning of the Olympic Charter regarding tolerance and openness. It should be noted that this issue was one of the most acute among the published articles with a negative shade.

Overall assessment of the political and legal system of Russian periodicals Norway is not high. According to the newspaper, freedom of speech and the ability of expression of Russians are limited. Among the most important examples of limiting freedoms Norwegian media considers the criticism and rejection of homosexuality, equal rights for people, that is, in their opinion, the face of the state.

Norwegian media practically does not raise the issues of political culture of the Russian people, which is most likely due to insufficient knowledge of the internal situation in Russia, its cultural identity and social consciousness.

Among the publications devoted to the analysis of political decisions and actions that Russia had taken on the international arena, the greatest response was received by espionage scandals. Among Russian spies Anna Chapman is mentioned (espionage in the United States in 2010), Heidrun and Andreas Anschlag (espionage in Germany in 2013). Some articles were on threats from the sea or the sky or about spying by the aircraft BearF along the coast of Norway (2009), or about the ship "Fedor Golovin" off the coast of Sweden (2013) and the ship "Victor Leonov" in Havana (2014). “We have not seen this behavior on the part of Russia ... since the Cold War”13, — admits the marine inspector and Norwegian rear admiral Jan Törnqvist.

Norwegians are afraid for their own national security. So, a military analyst and a senior adviser of the Centre for International and Strategic Analysis SISA Harald Hovol writes that the Norwegian aviation constantly observes Russian aircraft along its coast. He is afraid that Russian aircraft has nuclear weapons on board. Analysts say that Russia's military budget in 2013 increased by a quarter, which means that the training operations will be spread further to the west and south along the coast of Norway14.

Finally, the biggest part of the political articles is devoted to the actual topic of today — events in Ukraine and the joining of Crimea. The articles on these events consider the actions of Russia as a violation of international law. The totality of publications on this subject could be divided into 2 groups: the articles devoted to the analysis of the position of Ukraine and the West; publications reflecting the position of the Crimea and Russia.

The first section is represented by the largest number of articles. The second — refers to the referendum on March 16, 2014 and highlights the position of the Russian side. It is noted that Barack Obama is “deeply concerned” about the situation on the Crimean peninsula and calls on Russia to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. It is recorded that the US and the EU do not recognize the results of the referendum on the status of Crimea, despite the fact that 95.5% of the population voted for joining Russia. It is noted that due to the position of Russia in the Crimea V.V. Putin’s rating has increased dramatically inside the country. NUPI Professor Janne Haaland Matlari believes that Western sanctions against Russia would have serious consequences for the European countries themselves. As an example, she cites the French arms deal with Russia, German gas imports, Russian investments in the City of London15.

An attempt to analyze the reasons for sanctions against Russia is in the article «Den russiske annekteringen av Krim er en realitet. Det er gjort brutalt og nådeløst "Krimpå Russisk» — «Liberal foreign policy is guided by the rules." Not without reason in the publication noted that international standards over the years have become so numerous that they come into conflict with each other. Noteworthy is the author's article that the West in these events hastily constructed front line to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine and non-interference in its internal affairs, whereas during the conflicts in Iraq, Kosovo, Libya and Syria, the West and the United States were on the other side of the table, where now Russia sits. It should be recognized that this article actually justifies Russia's actions and recognize the legitimacy of its actions. The publication notes that "Crimea was Russian for nearly 300 years until the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev with a stroke of a pen gave it to Ukraine in 196416... Some historians believe that it was in a drunken state. Like so much else in this complicated region of the world ... “17.

The publication notes that the Norwegian side has confined itself to two sanctions against Russia. It had suspended its participation in the negotiations on a free trade area between the European Free Trade Association and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and also joined the EU decision to impose sanctions against a number of citizens of the Crimea18. Meanwhile, the bilateral relations between Russia and Norway should not suffer from this, says Kristian Haugen19. “Norway stands for fruitful cooperation with Russia. As the Arctic states and neighbors, we have common interests and important areas of cooperation, including in the field of fishery management, environmental protection, nuclear and radiation safety, as well as wide crossborder cooperation. These directions we want to keep”20 — says Secretary of State B.G. Pedersen.

According to the Norwegian Government, the sanctions are the result of the actions of Russia in Ukraine. Joining them in the autumn of 2014, Norway indefinitely introduces the following measures:

• 1)    a ban on exports of some equipment for the Russian oil and gas industry;

• 2)    a ban on the import of goods from the Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as a ban on the provision of loans or credits for a number of institutions in these regions;

• 3)    a ban on the import and export from Russia and to Russia in military and dual-use;

• 4)    a ban on trade in securities and financial instruments with a maturity of over 90 days, issued by the five Russian financial institutions²¹.

“Norway should support the Allied sanctions against Russia, even if the response of Moscow will mean serious consequences for local businesses," — said the Norwegian Minister of Finance Siv Jensen. “At the same time Russia is our neighbor and we have significant trade relations, so for the kingdom it is now important to overcome the period of Russian retaliatory sanctions that seem to be very unreasonable when you consider their implications"22, — she said.

Minister of Fisheries Elizabeth Aspaker, said that her department was considering the implications for the Norwegian economy from Russia's ban on imports of Norwegian fish. The Minister said that in 2012—2013, Russia was the largest importer of Norwegian fish and seafood. In 2013, the Russian Federation has provided almost 9% of the Norwegian exports to the industry by importing fish for more than $ 1 billion. The experts, in her opinion, have similar positions that Russia's ban on imports will hit Norwegian producers of salmon and trout, as it made up 80% of fish exported to in the Russian Federation23.

Elizabeth Aspaker also pointed that in 2013 Norway had exported to Russia about 650 tons of cheese, worth about $ 4 million. Now the Russian market is closed for the Norwegian dairy concern “Tina”, which provided the majority of these supplies. In this case, the share of fish and seafood products in 2013 was accounted for 76% of total Norwegian exports to RF. Norway exported salmon, trout, cod, mackerel and herring to Russia. E. Aspaker notes that there are some interesting exceptions to the list of prohibited goods: the exclusion of alcohol, which means that the middle class in large cities of Russia continues to drink European wines. Baby food is also not included in the ban list, because it is the product of the urban middle class24.

Ibid.

22 Nye EU-sanksjoner mot Russland.

URL:

ukraina/35247688/ (accessed: 20.10.2014).

• ²³    Morten Stand, Trym Mogen «Russland stanser import av norske produkter». URL: http://www.dagbladet.no/2014/

  08/07/nyheter/varehandel/politikk/okonomisk_politikk/russland/34669460/ (accessed: 20.10.2014)

The above-mentioned author writes that from August 7th, 2014, Russia had imposed a total ban on beef, pork, vegetables, poultry, cheese and milk from the EU, the US, Australia, Canada and Norway. Russia imposed sanctions against the EU, US, Canada, Japan, Australia, Switzerland. On October 16th, 2014 the EU candidate for membership countries — Montenegro, Iceland, Albania, Ukraine, and members of the European Economic Area Liechtenstein and Norway joined the antiRussian sanctions, announced in Brussels on September, 12th25. We are talking about the sanctions that restrict the access of Russian banks and companies to the capital market of the European Union, as well as affecting the oil, aviation industry and defense complex.

Thus, political actions of Russia in the international arena are most covered topic in the Norwegian media. The most urgent problem is the events in Ukraine, joining the Crimea, Western sanctions on Russian and Moscow's response to them, which is quite justified, because they are directly affected Norway and caused significant damage to its economy. We can assume that the so-called annexation of the Crimea and interference into political processes in Eastern Ukraine may raise concerns about Norway's own national sovereignty and security, as measures to strengthen the national security of the country by a military build-up and could be interpreted as a growing threat to other countries.

Conclusion

In general, the analysis allows us to conclude that the Norwegian media is not indifferent to the internal political processes in Russia and its activities in the international arena. However, the content analysis of articles shows that printed periodicals of Norway do not provide a comprehensive and integrated understanding of the political image of Russia. They are poorly represented specificity of Russia's political development and political culture of the people. Through the prism of Western values and ideas estimated the degree of development of democratic institutions, civil society, human rights and freedoms. On the basis of high-profile resonant events provides an overview of the political and legal system, foreign policy and Russia's behavior in the international arena. Significant amount of negative articles is cautiously suspicious about the true nature of the foreign policy of Moscow's intentions, particularly in light of the Ukrainian crisis and its consequences.

However, it should be noted that the interpretation of the political image of Russia and its major components is highly controversial. Along with the negative image of Russia Norwegian media makes attempts to reflect the positive trends in Russia, reasonably submit its position in the

• ²⁵    Минфин Норвегии: Осло должен поддержать союзников по санкциям против России. URL: http://vz.ru/ news/2014/8/8/699349.html (accessed: 20.10.2014)

international arena and national interests, especially in the Crimea. In this context, the political image of Russia in Norway is more balanced compared to, for example, the Baltic prints that constantly circulate the image of the enemy in the face of Russia [14].

Fragmentation and a certain political engagement of articles is relevant because of the several factors: the specificity of the media, which tend to focus on sensational events with a negative shade, poor awareness of the events taking place in Russia and a lack of understanding of cultural and national specificity of our country. We also should be aware that Norway is a member of NATO and must follow its discipline. We should not exclude the possibility of the order of government and financial circles. Partly it is the fault of the Russian media, which have only recently started to be active in the international space. Only in 2005, the channel «Russia today» started its work for the audience which currently stands at about 644 million people in more than 100 countries of the world. Russia has not taken enough measures to create a positive international image of the country. Cautious attitudes towards the country inherited from the Cold War are still influencing its image.