THE IMAGE OF RUSSIA IN THE BULGARIAN MASS MEDIA: RETROSPECTIVE LITERATURE ANALYSIS
Journal: Rocznik Centrum Studiów nad Ukrainą
Year: 2026

Th e study confi rmed that historical media images create stable mental images that persist even aft er political or economic changes, and that it takes at least 10-20 years to change them (the so-called “image inertia”). Onceestablished ideas about countries tend to be self-reinforcing in any media, and media narratives about foreign countries persist even when the data contradicts them. However, Russia’s image began to change rapidly aft er its invasion of Ukraine in 2014; Russian occupation o