The Rusin question in the Russian media agenda (2010-2019)

The article discusses the coverage of the Rusin question in Russian media. The study is based on a qualitative and quantitative content analysis of samples from 18 various online media for 2010-2019. In total, 209 materials about Rusins were selected in two main areas - history and politics. The paper gives a brief description of the main historical topics in the context of which Rusins are mentioned. The most frequent among them is the history of the Rusins at the end of the 19th - early 20th centuries, perhaps due to the centennial of the First World War, the fall of Austria-Hungary etc. The authos focus on political topics that make up the so-called Rusin question: the autonomy of Transcarpathia, recognition of Rusins as a national minority and the end of their discrimination in Ukraine. The authors conclude that the Rusin question is virtually absent in the Russian media agenda. However, there has been an increase in the interest in this topic since 2014, which is primarily due to the confrontation between Ukraine and Russia, during which the Rusins began to be used as a lever of pressure on official Kyiv. The authos emphasise the image of a brotherly nation created to oppose to the “bad nationalistic” Ukrainians who are going to fight in the Donbass against people like the Rusins, fighting to preserve their language, identity, and gain autonomy. The highest interest in the Rusins in the Russian media was in 2015, after which a gradual decrease in the number of references began, which is associated with a decline in the intensity of the conflict in Ukraine.

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