| Abstract [eng] |
The primary purpose of this thesis was to determine major messages considering NATO image, provided by pro-Kremlin media network Russia Today within three Baltic States. The research was specifically concerned with analyzing publicly available online articles found on rt.com website in order to fulfil the aim of the study. The thesis first examined the existing literature concerning the similar matter. Hence, the first part mainly provides an outline of relevant scholarly articles, that revealed what has been already analyzed and what kind of field for future research was still opened. An overview of the material revealed that a particular topic has been hardly researched recently. For conduction of the analysis, framing theory has been chosen for the main methodological tool. As framing refers to the process by which people are able to develop a specific conceptualisation of a certain issue or at least reorient their thinking about the same issue, it decently fit to analyze and explain constructed NATO image from the point of view of Russian disinformative information source. The timeframe of the analysis was between the years of 2015 and 2019, similar time periods before and after the establishment of the NATO-mission “enhanced Forward Presence”. Analysis was solely data driven on articles from Russia Today webpage, that has been recognized as Kremlin-tied and disinformative. All of the articles not only must have fitted the timeframe but also been written in English language, included a keyword “NATO” and one (or more) of the names of the Baltic countries: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia or the Baltics in general. Analysis revealed that the webpage was highly demonising the Alliance, constantly picturing it as a threat to Russia, an aggressive, russophobic bloc, that has been destabilizing whole region. It is important to emphasize, that nature of frames clearly differed, comparing two periods of time, before and after the battlegroups’ deployment. They moved from agitating against the hostile, anti-Russian organization as a notional idea and as an abstract, towards real disadvantages of the Alliance, such as under-equipment or unfortunate events during Alliance's presence in different allied countries. Noticed main framing mechanism – framing of attributes – remained more or less the same throughout the analysis. The tone of frames used have not changed at all during the time of analysis and consecutively remained highly negative. The aim of the thesis was reached as the articles allowed to determine what were the main frames used to picture NATO, what were the messages of Russia Today presenting NATO as a major threat and what framing mechanisms were used to assure national and international audience that their claims were relevant. |
