Россия и россияне: имидж в глазах Запада в истории и современности

Abstract

From the XVIII to the XXI century, there was an evolution of the image of Russia in the perception of its Western states. These changes can be traced according to the methodology of system analysis. The data of the project “Russia in the Western European press of the XVIII century” of the Higher School of Economics University and international expert surveys of the project “Dialogue partnership as a factor of stability and integration” 2005–2019 are analyzed in 16 countries, empirical materials of public opinion polls conducted by the Gallop Institute (2007, 2010), INION (2008–2012) and the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2002, 2007) on the study of socio-cultural aspects of the European identity of Russians. The content analysis of publications on this problem is carried out. Comparative analysis shows that the perception of our country by Western states has changed and its image has evolved: from a militarily strong power acting on an equal footing with Western countries in the XVIII century, to the image of the “gendarme of Europe” that developed in the XIX century, and to the personification of Russia as a “citadel of communist evil” in the twentieth century, starting from 1917, and then at the turn of the twentieth century and in the XXI century as a country that has lost the status of a “great power”. A number of experts assess Russia as a regional power trying to regain the status of a great power.