O. S. Deyneka
St Petersburg State University
Mass media influence on national polarization in existential events’ reflection
The empirical study of attitudes to existential political events contained three parts. In the first part, the attitude towards the fact of Crimea's accession to Russia and the South Ukrainian conflict showed the polarization of views depending on the preferred media. The results of the second part of the study showed a positive emotional attitude of Russian students towards the Ukrainian people (unlike the Ukrainian government). In the third part, the attitude of students to the information policy of Russia has demonstrated an imbalance in favor of the freedom of information dissemination to the detriment of the security of the community and awareness of threats. In general, the study showed signs of post-politics.
Keywords: polarization of the political views, mass-media influence, existential political events.

О. С. Дейнека
Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет
Влияние СМИ на национальную поляризацию в отражении экзистенциальных событий
Эмпирическое исследование отношений к экзистенциальным политическим событиям состояло из трех частей. В первой части отношение к факту присоединения Крыма к России и Южно-украинскому конфликту показало поляризацию взглядов в зависимости от предпочитаемых СМИ. Результаты второй части исследования показали позитивное эмоциональное отношение российских студентов к украинскому народу (в отличие от украинского правительства). В третьей части отношение студентов к информационной политике России продемонстрировало дисбаланс в пользу свободы распространения информации в ущерб безопасности сообщества и осознанию угроз. В целом, исследование выявило признаки постполитики.
Ключевые слова: поляризация политических взглядов, влияние СМИ, экзистенциональные политические события.

There is no doubt in the role of the media in the reflection of socio-political information and the unification or, on the contrary, the polarization of the political views of citizens. Against the backdrop of information wars and the tendency of the mass media to reduce the phenomenon of "production of consent" (Herman E.S., N. Chomsky, 1998) and solidarity in society, it is important to adequately build the state's information policy and to receive feedback from citizens. We have conducted a study of citizens' views on important political events, taking into account the influence exerted on them by mass communication. The objectives of our empirical study were: 1) to investigate the attitudes towards the fact of the return of the Crimea to Russia and the Donetsk conflict, depending on the media preferences of different political orientations; 2) to study attitudes of students to the Ukrainian people and their reflection of relations between Ukraine and Russia; 3) to explore the attitude of students towards the modern information policy of Russia.
Method:  Structured interviews, the method of ranking associations and multi factorial questionnaires were used in the study. A total of 377 subjects took part in the study. 
Results: 1st stage The results of the structural interview (66 Ss) showed that the majority of those who prefer protest media (for example, listen to «Ekho Moskvy», watch «the Rain» channel) use the term "annexation of the Crimea" (89%) and accuse Russia of the consequences of the civil War in Ukraine (66%). And, on the contrary, the preference for patriotic media (for example, «Vesti FM», «Rossiya», «Zvezda») correlates with the choice of the terms "the reunification of Crimea with Russia", the "return of the Crimea". Also, in the coverage of the war in the South-East of Ukraine, there dominate such interpretations as “humanitarian and moral assistance to the Russian-speaking population". 12% of the respondents chose mass media of protest, 38% preferred patriotic mass media and 50% received political information from different sources and gravitated toward neutral interpretations.
2nd stage The results of analyzing the mass consciousness of students (80 Ss) in the field of perception of relations between Ukraine and Russia received. The semi-projective method of emotional attitude showed that the Ukrainian people in the students cause sympathy, pity and solidarity. More than half of the students believe that the culture of Russians and Ukrainians has more in common than differences. At the same time, students showed little optimism about the improvement of relations between Russia and Ukraine in the next 3 years. Respondents do not believe that the dialogue between Russia and Ukraine is hampered by mental differences. They express moderate agreement that such an obstacle can be the economic interest of the authorities and the actions of the subjects of global wars. Thus, the polarization of the views of Russian citizens is not related to the negative attitude towards the Ukrainian people, but concerns a negative attitude to the Ukrainian or to a lesser extent the Russian government. The results of factor and correlation analysis showed that Ukraine is associated with the image of the enemy more among those students who seek commonality and justice mainly on the Internet.
3rd stage. 41% of respondents were not interested in political information. The most frequently cited source of political information was the source of "close people". However, according to the cumulative result, the Internet is leading:  news media, social networks (Vkontakte, Facebook), news aggregators (Yandex, Mail etc.), video. Printed media turned out to be the least popular source of information for students. This result is natural in the era of the merging of the "traditional" media (periodicals, radio and television) into a single digital Internet platform. Students believe that the media can’t cope with the function of conveying political views in society. They understand that propaganda is an obligatory element of the information policy, but it is necessary to improve the image of Russia in the world.