Origins of the most commonplaces stereotypes to create an image of Russia in Sweden article LP Groth (Sweden)
Over 20 years of living in Sweden I have not met one, for real, positive message about Russia in the Swedish media, whether newspapers, radio or television. Negativity is represented in all forms. If it talking about politics in Russia, it interlard picture about the threat from Russia, resting on arguments about the undeveloped democracy or totalitarianism, growing and military threat, against the background of pitiful picture of the unhappy Russian history - that it is seen standing root of suffering: the eternal oppression conquest, repression. If a report or article for the Russian society, the primary motive, and even software - crushed, downtrodden Russian people - Ethnography in Swedish media the other peoples of Russia have not yet opened. The main motive may have been refracted in various motifs of female captivity, the male alcoholism about children - orphans or homeless children, etc. similar estimate can be met and they themselves Swedish journalists. As an example, an excerpt from the article Journalist Elizabeth Hedborg , where she portrayed with great sarcasm seems to Russia in the reports the Swedish media:
At some times to the east of us was a big country, all of whose population was divided into two groups: one - a very dangerous, they were KGB agents, and they should be afraid. In addition to these lived there other people who should be sorry - they were dissidents, political dissidents ... The biggest problem with the agents of the KGB was that they could pretend to be anyone, and never explicitly told they were or not they are. So when we visited this great country to the east of us, more reliable all was to proceed from the fact that all but the dissidents were dressed as KGB agents.
Today this vast country to the east of us is going through a time of change, but its population is still composed of two groups. First of all, it's Mafia bosses. They are very dangerous. And, as in the case of KGB agents, can never be to be sure who actually is a mafia boss. Therefore it is best to proceed from the assumption that for every luxurious fur cap hiding a dangerous mafia. Besides them there is another group of people - people who should be spared ... This child homeless, AIDS patients and alcoholics. On them, we must speak with compassion.
And let me tell a story, it is quite true. In fact, unless knowledge of an ordinary Swede about real life in Russia any increased after the collapse of the communist system? Our eastern neighbor gone through dramatic in scope and content changes but views on Swedes' ordinary Russian "remained unchanged. Russian, we continue to be described in two ways: either as hazardous or as the oppressed. Their should either be afraid or feel sorry ... I've long wondered why this is so. Why we are not afraid to go to New York and go to the notoriously dangerous areas such as Bronx and Harlem? Or, without batting an eye, we sit on a plane and fly to Taorimu Sicily - an island, much of which is under the authority of the Mafia, this mob?
In my opinion, the fact that most Swedes missing his own image of Russia, ie, the image that is composed based on personal experience and my own observations. Many Swedes have been in the U.S. or even in Sicily, in extreme cases - in Italy. We have our attitudes countries, regardless of what is written in newspapers or on television said. Even, perhaps, that their own ideas and images are perceived as "true" and "correct". And let them out there in the "News" say what they want.
But with respect to Russia, the situation is quite different. Here the image, created by the media is the only way for the country. ... Of course, I do not mean that the Swedish media should suppress the negative and serious side Life in Russia, which is experiencing such dramatic changes. But I am absolutely convinced that we must demand from ourselves the same balance and relevance in covering the events in another country, what we demand from the foreign media in covering the events in Sweden. Imagine that somewhere in the stories about Sweden would consist of some stories about Nazi concerts on demonstrantsiyah vegans and the shootout at Styureplan - unless we would agree that it is truthful Image of Sweden? ... At the moment in Russian society is undergoing global changes ... are being developed new ideas, vzlyad, traditions .... New Society рождается на наших глазах, но как это уже не раз бывало, мы не видим того, что происходит в действительности. Мы смотрим на новое прежними глазами, на которых, that it is important to note, still has blinders on. And it is clear that in a few years, we will stand in front of an obvious fact. We shall see that in Russia there were any significant shifts, but again we can not understand how it all happened. Just as none of us could foresee the collapse of the Soviet Union or the fall of the Berlin wall. (Hedborg, 1998, s.74)
Hedborg wrote an article seven years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Even then, the well-known Swedish journalist noted that the level of the Swedish media reports about Russia has been low and devoid of objectivity and that the ordinary Swede had to begin to acquire their own experiences in order to disengage from negative stereotypes about Russia, which were filled with the Swedish media. Now 10 years have passed since it was written this article and more 18 years since the Soviet Union ceased to exist. And both then and now, we must conclude that the position of the Swedish media about Russia has not changed and is marked only negativity, ie, still far from balanced and objectivism.
This is confirmed by, for example, the results of the study Hannah Mattoly (2008) from the Cultural and Geographic Institute, Stockholm University. Mattola analyzed Swedish press for the period from April 2005 till April of 2007.: totaling 235 articles in newspapers "Dagens Nyheter", "Syudsvenska Dagbladet" and "Geteborgs-Posten. Study showed: absolute majority to become negative, some of the articles (about fifth), according to the researcher, positive, and others - are neutral. But if we look at the positive and neutral articles, we will see that they are represented by small notes, purely informational nature, in which informed about the arrival of any delegation or signing an agreement of this type: the delegation arrived, the visit took place, the delegation departed. A negative article devoted lengthy analysis Russian politics Questions that whither Russia etc. and consist usually several bands. If we compare the parsed material by volume, we see that the negative items constitute the bulk of all the reports about Russia, and that they form Owned by the image of Russia which Swedish media give the average Swede. Mattola makes the following findings:
• Reporting on Russia in the Swedish press pessimistic and gloomy, dedicated only to negative events. It is obvious that many journalists have retained the mentality of the Cold War: Confrontation West - East.
• Russia is seen by Western perspective, its view was not taken into account. Features painted Western European subjectivity. As illustrated by the many articles of Rosii or its solutions are opposed to Western views in such a way that the latter is offered as a norm or ideal.
• Estimates of the mass media exert a strong influence and a high degree contribute to the formation of biased opinions.
immediately apparent that the most typical features, which Mattola noted in reports Swedish media about Russia, are identical to those noted Elizabeth Hedborg. The common thread in the study Mattoly is the idea that cognition Swedes on Russia is very small, about the same and Hedborg said in his article. Conclusions Mattoly as pessimistic and gloomy spirit of the reports about Russia in the Swedish press and on the selectivity in the selection of certain facts coincide with the general thesis Hedborg that Russian can be represented by only two kinds: either they dangerous, either - are oppressed. They should either be afraid or feel sorry ... This suggests that Swedish journalists learn Russian using the same template.
This conclusion naturally leads to the question: how to study Russia in Sweden, with no textbooks, and based on what research? Is there a connection between how teaching about Russia, and negativism Swedish media? I decided to apply to works of the famous Swedish specialist on Russia Per-Arne Bodin and analyze his book «Russia and Europe» (Bodin 1994).
The reason that I stopped the choice is for the book Bodin, very simple. Bodine not only is a recognized expert on Russia, an expert on its history and culture. He - Dean and Professor of Slavic Studies at Stockholm University. Behind him many years of experience training students and graduate students in Russian history and culture, Russian language, etc. Called the book "Russia and Europe" was published shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the objective was designed to open a new chapter in the study of Russia.
book reprinted several раз, следовательно, получила известность. На книги Бодина о России принято ссылаться, в частности, представители шведских СМИ нередко обращаются к работам Bodin as an authoritative source of knowledge about Russia. For example, the work of "Russia and Europe" drawn Mattola in her study, noting that in this book:
... Per-Arne Bodin gives a deep analysis of the Orthodox tradition and Russian culture. It raises a question about Russian traditions that influenced the formation of Russian identity, but also identifies those historical and cultural features, which laid the groundwork for the differences between Russian and Western European cultures. The task of his research - to enable a better understanding of Russian identity and the mentality that helped her rise. Study Bodin has no connection with the media, its core are the ideological and historical phenomena, and other historical factors. (Maattola 2008, s.9)
first thing that alarmed Bodin while reading the book "Russia and Europe" - is its name: The author initially opposes Russia and the rest of Europe as the two antagonistic beginning. But this is just the starting point and the position of the Swedish media about Russia: to portray Russia as an alien for the rest of Europe and for this reason - Threatening to start. Thus, the answer to the question of whether there is a connection between the image of Russia in the media and its image interpretation by Swedish experts in Russia, we obtain at once: the book Bodin tells us that such a relationship exists. And it is quite natural, since the current system of knowledge about Russia, including the historical research has emerged during the Cold War. Then there was his own technique for handling the material on Russian history, where not required objective analysis of all available facts. The goal was to dissect the sources so as to arrive at predetermined milestones: to create a negative, repulsive image of a hostile country, which is identified with Russia. To prove the truth of the stated will hold a critique of some provisions of book Bodin and analyze them to determine the scientific objectivity of the evidence that Bodine gathered to support his basic thesis about the differences between Russia and the rest of Europe in historical and cultural relations, as well as its overall performance in Russia, woven of phrases such as "mysticism, conservatism ... the exact opposite of the way the Western Church ... a departure from the rationalism ...", which, according to Bodine, was a fundamental for the history of Russia at all times.
For their analysis, I chose from the book excerpts about Bodin hesychasm and filioque - two very difficult concepts from the history of theology, acquaintances limited range of researchers interested in theological and philosophical issues. Why Bodine took them for their research?
full article L. P. Groth: Who today is interesting debate about hesychasts?
In Sweden, I managed to find only one work, entitled "History of Russia", edition of 1924-27 years. Written by Oscar Dumratom (1844-1929). But there are many editions under the headline, like "kings of Russia - Russia Councils ", etc. After the collapse of the Soviet Union by local experts on Russia have been released several new publications on the historical past of Russia. Except considered here, Book Bodin, this book is a Norwegian Norman Vahe «Russia - is something else. Cultural and historical guide »(Ryssland är annorlunda. En kulturhistorisk bruksanvisning) and Russia - Other Europe. History and society for 1000 years »(Ryssland - ett annat Europa. Historia och samhälle under 1000 år) - a collection of articles leading Swedish experts on Russia. When I looked through this book in the provincial library, library staff told me: "How good that they begin to publish such books. Will have at least something to read on Russia, but it is still nothing of interest and it was not. " "Well, yeah not really - I thought. - As can be seen with the naked eye, the stereotypes of the cold war on Russia as the antipode to Western Europe, firmly sunk the head of local authors and do not leave until their ".
Stereotypes about Russia - this is the only ersatz knowledge of Russia, which is available to the Swedish Society: Russia is represented by either dangerous, or pitiful, wretched. "Scientific" basis in publications about Russia borrowed from books, created in Sovietologists the Cold War. But this whole "arsenal" belong to the past and obstruct the way of the future. The last edition of 1924-27 years. clearly outdated, and the examples of stereotypes on Russia, which I led in this article, and which circulate in the Swedish society, instead of knowledge of Russian can not promote the communication and the Russian-Swedish intercultural exchange.
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© The article was published in the anthology: Vår bild av Sverige - Vår bild av Ryssland: Intercultural communication Russia-Sweden. Stockholm, 2010. S. 286-304.
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