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printRegionalism in the “messages” of the heads of subjects of the Russian Federation:
a discursive perspective
Nazukina M.V.,
Perm Federal Research Center, Urals Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Perm, Russia, nazukina@mail.ru
elibrary_id: 251245 | ORCID: 0000-0003-0190-0513 | RESEARCHER_ID: : L-8246-2016
DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2022.02.06
For citation:
Nazukina M.V. Regionalism in the “messages” of the heads of subjects of the Russian Federation: a discursive perspective. – Polis. Political Studies. 2022. No. 2. https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2022.02.06
The article was prepared with financial support provided by the Russian Science Foundation. Research grant No. 19-18-00053 “Subnational Regionalism and Dynamics of Multi-Level Politics (Russian and European Practices)”. The research was conducted at the Perm Federal Research Center, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences.
Abstract
This article discusses a system of indicators that help to analyze regionalist discourse in the rhetoric of the heads of subjects of the Russian Federation. The first block reflects various aspects that make up the objective capital of regional specifics (historical and cultural uniqueness, economic specifics, political features, natural and geographical markers of place features). The second block is “cultural regionalism and regional identity” (representing the region as a unique space for the country, nominating the regional community, naming specific brands of the region, names of “cultural heroes”, etc.). The third block is the positioning of the region in relation to the federal center. Based on the analysis of 62 texts, it is shown that in the vast majority of cases, the understanding of the specifics of the region in the messages is carried out taking into account historical and cultural features. Geographical and natural markers are usually used with the purpose of demonstrating the tourist capital of the region, economic markers serve to characterize the potential of the territory, and its leadership in various ratings. The concept of identity as a resource for the development of a place is poorly represented in the texts of the chapters. The concepts used here are related to such concepts as “land”, “face”, “regional character”, “cultural code” of the region. Three strategies were identified, according to which the contexts of mentioning the word “federal” were correlated. The first model is paternalistic, in which the region “expects help” and is “grateful for it” to the federal center. The second model is represented by the partner speech strategy. Within the framework of it, in the discourse of the head of state, the region acts as an equal participant in interaction with the federal Center. The third model is conditionally neutral and is related to the reporting data on federal programs. It is found that in the regions where the most intense discussions about the specifics of the territory are presented, the intensity of the discourse of regional identity is frequently higher. In such message texts, regionalism is articulated in the aspect of cultural regionalism. Political regionalism as the relationship between the region and the center is formalized by a neutral agenda.
Keywords
regionalism, regional identity, regional elites, heads of Russian regions, message, discourse analysis.
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Content No. 2, 2022
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