Language of Advertisements in Contemporary Russian Women’s Magazines: Value Orientations in Krest’ianka, Karavan istorii, and Samaia

Abstract

Over two decades after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia continues to be a society in transition where local and global values still tend to conflict with each other. This article focuses on value appeals in the advertising discourse of the contemporary Russian women’s magazines Krest’ianka [Peasant Woman], Karavan istorii [Caravan of Stories] and Samaia [The Most]. Advertising appeals are analyzed from the perspective of individualism and collectivism. These are respectively associated with global and local value orientations. The distribution of appeals to individualism and collectivism in the magazines under review is linked to the definition of the values of the target audience of each magazine. In general, the magazines are designed, distributed, and consumed in the evolving socio-economic context of post-Soviet Russia. Since magazines significantly depend on advertising revenues, this article proposes that advertising messages have the potential to impact the discourse of the magazines, in particular, the construction of femininities in the magazine medium.