Two Images of Russia in the British Political Mass Media Discourse of 1991 – 1993 and 2013 – 2019: Pragmastylistic Aspect

The paper considers political mass media discourse as a persuasive dialogue in which a journalist makes his interlocutors accept a certain point of view. The desired mental reaction on the part of interlocutors can only be achieved through careful choice of ways of persuasion and especially linguistic means often influencing effectively the emotional sphere. The persuasion can be subject to ideological aims thus representing a definite object as positive or negative. The paper claims that such object as the image of state can have opposite assessment in different periods of time and focuses on linguistic means of persuasion aimed at the creation of two contrasting images of Russia in the British mass media discourse of 1991 – 1993 and 2013 – 2019.