The image and media image of Russia among German citizens against the background of the strengthening of radical attitudes in society

The article presents the results of studying the image of Russia in the minds of German citizens and the associated attitude of Germans towards Russians, including those formed by the media against the background of increasing global competition and Western Russophobia. The online study involved residents of Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt and Baden-Allendorf from 19 to 70 years old (51% of men and 49% of women). The research toolkit consisted of 4 author's methods – semi-selective and questionnaire. All of them have been tested for design validity and reliability. The results of the study showed that in the everyday consciousness of German citizens, the image of Russia has a pronounced negative connotation and is often caused by the influence of mass media. At the same time, to a greater extent, this is noted among those respondents who are characterized by radical and extremist attitudes, as well as those who receive information about politics mainly from the Internet.