VENEMAA SÕJALISE VÕIME KEELELINE KONSTRUEERIMINE
The Discursive Construction of Russia’s Military Capabilities

Summary/Abstract: In this article, the authors identify the ways in which Russia’s military capabilities were discursively constructed in the Estonian online news media during 2017–2018. The authors put forward a framework for analysing discursive representations of military capabilities in terms of linguistic references to or markers of (1) size/numbers of troops and equipment, (2) technology/modernization of forces, (3) mobility/activity of troops, and (4) money/resources available to achieve military objectives. The resulting analysis demonstrates the use of these linguistic resources to construct an image of Russian forces either as a threat to the West or to downplay/ridicule Russia’s military power. In the presented textual data, the perception of Russia’s military capabilities was primarily magnified via references to large numbers of troops and weapons.

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