”Direct Line with Vladimir Putin“ in the Mirror of Sociology and Axiology

”Direct Line with Vladimir Putin“ in the Mirror of Sociology and Axiology


Borshchevskiy G.A.

Dr. Sci. (Polit.), Prof., Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow, Russia borshchevskiy-ga@ranepa.ru

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Borshchevskiy G.A. ”Direct Line with Vladimir Putin“ in the Mirror of Sociology and Axiology. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2022. No 11. P. 54-65




Abstract

In the article we examine the values in discourse of the “Direct Line with Vladimir Putin” in 2001–2021. We modified the World Values Survey by Ronald Inglehart using the methods of content analysis and discurse analysis. We compared the frequency of voicing values with the results of sociological surveys devoted to similar values (e.g. attitude towards the Constitution, perception of patriotism and justice, approval of power institutions, affairs in the country assessment) revealing multidirectional statistical relationships. The official discourse about certain values is activated during periods of “deficiency” of these values in real life, perhaps in order to draw attention to this fact and stimulate desired changes. We also examined the links between the Direct Lines’ discourse and macroeconomic indicators. We found that post-materialist values correlate positively with the income level of the population and negatively with the unemployment rate. The hypothesis was confirmed that the authorities convey certain values to society during the Direct Lines, but it cannot be argued that the values of the political elite and Russian society are harmonized in this case.


Keywords
social values; discourse; president; public opinion; World Values Survey; content analysis

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Content No 11, 2022