The practice of using the hero's archetype in creating the images of domestic politicians

Abstract

The article analyzes the cultural and historical images transformation of the political elite representatives in the context of Russian political culture of the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. The transfer of the leader's traits popular among the population to the archaic basis of the heroa defender against the forces of evil and chaosis used by political strategists and journalists to construct attractive images of government officials. The authors argue that in the information age the qualified use of the hero's archetype allows accessing to the deep irrational layers of the electorate's subconscious and ensures elevated ratingsfrom the Russian President Vladimir Putin to heads of regions and municipal associations.

The application of storytelling in political public relations

“…Kombinovano značenje je "izvorni obrazac" iz kojeg su izvedene, kopirane, modelovane ili emulirane sve druge slične osobe, objekti ili koncepti (Golden, 2016). Slika političkog lidera jeste politička projekcija samog birača, tačnije, brend političkog lidera može se tretirati kao model "projekcije arhetipa" (Balynskaya, Dyorina, Shurko, 2019).…”

The practice of using the hero's archetype in creating the images of domestic politicians

“…-The presence of antagonistic enemies whose professional and human qualities are in binary opposition with the qualities of a hero; -Appeal to national (ethno cultural) values: birth in a worthy family, moral purity (married, has four sons, the eldest son in the family of a collective farm worker), decent life -campaign texts show features of a hagiographic narrative [6].…”

“…In ethnic republics, the status of regional leader is almost one level with the leader of the country. Thus, in Yakutia, where the culture of the titular ethnic group is considered to be a key element in preserving the specifics of the region (as a number of politicians, scientists and public figures of the republic believe), political issues inevitably affect the national aspect, which in a certain way affects the representation of political images in the regional media [6]. In the "ideal" case with fully controlled information channels and consolidated elite, the regional leader acquires the classic "mythological" features of the founder of a new world and a fighter against evil [7].…”

“…The Sakha peoplethe titular nation of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) -are characterized by a patriarchal type of political culture, the components of which are statism, paternalism, hierarchy, concentration of power in the "strong hands" of one leader [6]. The electorate of the third President of the republic, E. A. Borisov (2010-2014), the population of traditionally non-industrial regions of the republic, hoped with the help of a "village leader" to solve the social problems of the Yakut village (every fifth rural family in the republic officially lives below the poverty line).…”