Coverage of the activities of P. I. Yakir and V. A. Krasin in the Soviet press and the emigrant newspaper "Novoe Russkoe Slovo" in 1973

The subject of the study is the propaganda techniques that were used in the coverage of the activities of P.I. Yakir and V.A. Krasin in the Soviet and emigrant press in 1973. The trial of the leader of the human rights movement Yakir and his associate Krasin was symbolic in nature and received wide coverage in the Soviet Union. Since the defendants' cooperation with the investigation became one of the reasons for the human rights crisis, their position in the emigrant press also took on an ambiguous character. This study compares the publications of the central Soviet publications "Izvestia" and "Literaturnaya Gazeta" with articles from the conservative newspaper "Novoe Russkoe Slovo" in the USA, headed by a representative of the first wave of emigration, A. Sedykh. Typically, the editorial line covered the trials against human rights defenders in a neutral manner, while in the case of Yakir and Krasin it demonstrated emotionality. The comparison of its publications with those of the Soviet press allows for a more multifaceted study of the propaganda techniques in articles about human rights defenders. A comparative-analytical method was used to study the periodicals, enabling a comparison of materials published in Soviet and emigrant publications. The novelty of this work lies in the fact that articles about human rights defenders in "Izvestia", "Literaturnaya Gazeta", and "Novoe Russkoe Slovo", published in 1973, are compared for the first time. Since the trial of Yakir and Krasin took place in the midst of negotiations to achieve a détente in international tensions, this study will complement works on the topic of media confrontation during the Cold War. It is also the first time that materials from the Soviet official press are compared with the newspaper "Novoe Russkoe Slovo". As a result of the study of publications about the activities of Yakir and Krasin in Soviet and emigrant publications, the following propaganda techniques were identified: discrediting through labeling, presenting "us" versus "them," and appealing to security as the highest value. The articles contain numerous emotionally charged statements and ideological themes. It was concluded that similar methods of influencing the audience are used in the publications, in accordance with the agendas of the studied publications.

samizdat, P. I. Yakir, V. A. Krasin, soviet press, emigrant press, Novoe Russkoe Slovo, propaganda in the press, Chronicle of Current Events, the ideology, human rights movement