The problem of responsibility for discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the context of linguistic expertise

Abstract

Introduction. The article discusses the amendments to the current legislation adopted on March 4, 2022, which provide for administrative and criminal liability for public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the RF Armed Forces in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, maintain international peace and security. According to the author, in connection with these amendments, a number of issues arise that require scientific analysis and discussion. The first one is related to the concept of discredit as a legal term. The legislator does not give its interpretation, meanwhile, this is the basis of the objective side of the offense. Therefore, the author of the article, based on the analysis of the scientific discussion and his own expert experience, proposes for scientific discussion definition of the concept of discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which could be used as a guide in legal and jurislinguistic practice. The second question is related to identifying signs of the implementation of the discrediting strategy, including in order to distinguish between discrediting and critical judgments or opinions. The author believes that linguistic expertise plays a significant role in this process, since only a linguist can objectively and reasonably identify all communicative tactics and techniques used to discredit. Purpose: within the framework of the amendments to the legislation, to define actions aimed at discrediting the use of the RF Armed Forces, to justify the need for linguistic expertise in legal proceedings under Art. 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and Art. 2803 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Methods: empirical methods of description, interpretation; theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic. Results: 1) definition and content of the concept of discredit in relation to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was proposed for scientific discussion in order to achieve a common understanding and a common approach to solving emerging problems; 2) the communicative component of the discrediting strategy and the prevailing role of an expert linguist in identifying the signs of this strategy are emphasized; 3) it is emphasized that the involvement of an expert linguist allows not only to assert objectively about the implementation of a discrediting strategy in a particular conflict material, but also to differentiate it from correct critical judgments or expressions of opinion.