ASPECTS OF MEDIA PRESENTATIONS ON RUSSIANS: YET ANOTHER SPY STORY IN THE MEDIA

The paper presents some aspects of media presentations on a particular ethnic group which in the western psyche brings up associations with Socialism, Cold War Era, wealth, as well as of criminals, and last but not least, as the deadliest secret agents. In particular, the paper dwells on the cases of poisoning of Russian ex-spies in the UK as reflected in the media. The focus is on the way a Bulgarian, a British and a Russian newspaper present the case of the attempted murder of Sergey and Yulia Skripal with Novichok in Salisbury paying attention to the main topics put forward in the media discourse on spies. Some of the coverage of the Bulgarian trace, i.e. Emilian Gebrev, in the case is also analysed. Using CDA as the main method of analysis, the paper looks into the language used to present the whole case, the voices that get heard on the case, the focus of presentation of each media discourse along with the effect all these have on the general population. The paper argues that although articles on the topic are mostly informative and familiarize the general public with the life of spies with all its enchantment, setbacks, and negative or positive consequences, they also reveal the ongoing struggle for political dominance between today’s super powers, the existing ethnic/ national and social stereotypes, and finally stir panic, as despite some overt activities the whole activity remains largely clandestine and spies look just like normal people.