Authors

Discussion

Since February 24, 2022, Russia’s broadcast media presented its “special military operation” against Ukraine in terms of a diverse collection of enemies, schemes against Russia, and justifications for war. It is commonly assumed that the crests and troughs in the presentation of Russia’s war narratives reflect an attempt to shape public opinion in response to domestic and international events. However, survey research conducted during the war (to the extent that it is reliable) indicates not only that Russians’ support for the war has been relatively stable but that interest in the war even declined at least through the summer of 2022.

This paper argues that this simultaneous support for the war and public disengagement might be understood in terms of the normalization of war narratives in Russia’s media. Drawing upon broadcast transcripts from four federal television channels and 225 regional radio and television stations, the paper examines the extent to which war narratives varied in response to international and domestic events as well as their overall salience in the media. Preliminary analysis suggests that, while there has been selective variation in narratives, the salience of most narratives diminished quickly after the start of the war. This trend was especially noticeable in the regional media, such that the war became normalized and experienced as a background feature of everyday life for most Russians.