VENEMAA SÕJALISE VÕIME KEELELINE KONSTRUEERIMINE

The Discursive Construction of Russia’s Military Capabilities

Abstract

In this article, the authors identify the ways in which Russia’s military capabilities were discursively constructed in the Estonian online news media during 2017–2018. The authors put forward a framework for analysing discursive representations of military capabilities in terms of linguistic references to or markers of (1) size/numbers of troops and equipment, (2) technology/modernization of forces, (3) mobility/activity of troops, and (4) money/resources available to achieve military objectives. The resulting analysis demonstrates the use of these linguistic resources to construct an image of Russian forces either as a threat to the West or to downplay/ridicule Russia’s military power. In the presented textual data, the perception of Russia’s military capabilities was primarily magnified via references to large numbers of troops and weapons.