Russian media discourse on Asian refugee crisis: The case of Rohingya

About the authors:

Galina A. Nelaeva, Cand. Sci. (Polit.), Professor, Department of International Relations, Foreign Regional Studies and Tourism, Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Tyumen, Tyumen, Russia; g.a.nelaeva@utmn.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8877-9893

Anna A. Andreeva, Cand. Sci. (Philol.), Associate Professor, Department of Journalism, Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Tyumen, Tyumen, Russia; a.a.andreeva@utmn.ru

Natalia V. Drozhashchikh, Dr. Sci. (Philol.), Professor, Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Tyumen, Tyumen, Russia; n.v.drozhashhikh@utmn.ru

Abstract:

The article examines Russian media discourse about refugee crisis in South-East Asia in the period 2015–2023. In particular, we examine the case of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in such outlets as Izvestia, RIA Novosti, Kommersant, RBC, TASS and RT. In the context of Russia’s changing foreign policy priorities and the articulated “Turn to the East,” it is important to study how narratives in relation to the geopolitical East are established in the news agenda. The results show that the Southeast Asian migration crisis in the Russian media is predominantly portrayed through universal clichés. The media create a meta-narrative of Rohingya refugees as suffering victims in need of rescue by collective efforts. This metanarrative centers around two frames: “military conflict” and “Rohingya — Muslims”. The inference is the connection between the migration crisis as a humanitarian disaster and a potential terrorist threat. Discursive strategies for defining the East outside the Western-centric framework are in their infancy and are necessary for the Russian society in the conditions of expanding geopolitical interests.

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