Framing the image of Russia in the British media during the World Cup 2018

ABSTRACT The research is focused on the problem of the ambiguity in the perception of Russia in the British media during the 2018 FIFA World Cup and based on the competing frames theory by J. Druckman. The content analysis of 751 articles about Russia from the British broadsheets and tabloids was conducted to highlight five frames: ‘Russia as the enemy of Great Britain,’ ‘Russia as the potential partner of Great Britain,’ ‘Russia as the unsafe state,’ ‘Russia as the worthy host of the World Cup,’ ‘Russia as a country with a rich culture.’ The results show that negative perception of Russia prevails in the British media field, especially in the broadsheets. Despite the slight positive dynamics during the World Cup, by the end of the games, the frequency of frames returns to pre-championship values. The research contributes to the development of competing frames theory and allows testing the frame strength criteria.