Debate as a form of political communication in modern Russia

Abstract

The paper discusses debates in modern political communication as a form of public exchange of opinions between two or more parties on topical issues; the dynamics of the attitude of Russians towards political debates from 2003 to 2018; social and political and cultural prerequisites for their role and place in the political life of modern Russia are also analyzed. The purpose of the research is to reveal the role and place of political debates as a form of political communication in modern Russia. Achieving this goal requires consideration of the characteristics and functions of debates, analysis of the reasons and nature of the audience's attitude to political debate. The methodological basis of the research is systemic and structural-functional approaches, sociological, logical and comparative methods. The empirical base is the data of the participant observation. As a result of the research, we came to the following conclusions:

- Political debates in modern Russia did not become an active tool of political practice; the interest of Russians in such kind of political communication as a political debate is being reduced.

- Socio-political and cultural reasons for this attitude are: the nihilistic attitude of Russians towards political elections as such; features of political culture; the existing political system and the role of the party of power in it; disunity of the opposition; lack of taste for discussion among the majority of the population.

- Characteristic features of political debates in modern Russia are the absence of discussion (monologues instead of polemics) or the extremely low professional and ethical nature of their conduct; political debates in many ways take the form of a talk show, or a conversation program. The main feature of the debates in Russia is the non-participation of the main competitor in political debates.