Representation of the image of "Russia" and "Russians" in video games as an integral part of the soft power policy of Western countries

The article examines the issue of ideological content of the representative image of "Russia" and "Russians" in the modern Western video game industry. The purpose of this study is to study the video game industry as an example of an effective tool in the framework of the "soft power" policy of Western countries. The study identified the main archetypes (4 archetypes) in the representation of "Russia" and "Russians" in the Western video game industry, and highlighted the necessary measures for the successful development of the domestic video game industry as an integral part of cultural policy. The subject of the study is the works of the video game industry, in which Russia is present, in the role of the main / auxiliary antagonist of the story. The object of the research is political and ideological narratives in the representation of the image of "Russia" and "Russians" in the products of the Western video game industry.  To study the narratives and images embedded in the representative image of "Russia" and "Russians" in the video game industry, qualitative content analysis was applied, which allowed us to identify the main characteristics and archetypes. Quantitative content analysis was applied to consider the representation of the Eastern Front in projects dedicated to the Second World War. According to the results of the study, it was found that in the video game industry, the representation of "Russians" is negative, portraying them as the main or auxiliary antagonists. At their core, video games are based on visual images and narratives shaped by American popular culture during the Cold War, adapted to the modern military-political agenda. However, such a negative connotation is determined not so much by tradition, but by the emerging military and political situation. In addition, the representation of Russians as antagonists also has an economic aspect related to the proportionally smaller size of the domestic market compared to the Western or eastern one. In this regard, the protest of the Russian-speaking community, in the event of the appearance of antagonists of Russian nationality, will not have a significant impact on sales volumes. Projects dedicated to the Second World War are a separate area of the video game industry. The developers do not dedicate individual projects to the events on the Eastern Front, leaving the events in this theater as one of the components of the story campaigns. From the point of view of representing "Russia" and "Russians," the video games in this segment follow the narrative tradition laid down by former Wehrmacht generals, broadcasting historical fakes.

Videogames, propaganda, policy, narrative design, political technologies, storyline, representation of Russia, information technologies, political reality, soft power