Why does aggression/peacefulness (security) become the key factors in the perception of this or that state? To answer this question, you need to turn to the pyramid of needs, compiled at the time by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow. A person consciously or unconsciously projects his needs onto others (and to a greater extent, this is why such template pyramids can be constructed). This circumstance allows us to transfer A. Maslow's scheme to the image plane.

The image is a reflection of the degree of realization of the interests and needs of a person in a particular state. And, apparently, it is formed in the mind in the same stepwise and sequential manner, like a pyramid, i.e. upwards. And if, for example, the basic needs in a particular state are not satisfied, then it is hardly possible to talk about its spirituality and healthy image. For example, African countries lead the list of the poorest countries in the world (such as Zambia, Chad, Liberia, etc.). The footage of starving African children shocks all of humanity. What is the image of the same Zambia for the layman? Or the image of Chad? It is probably even somehow blasphemous to talk about the image when it comes to mass starvation, poverty and deadly diseases. Such countries are never included in the image rankings. If a country cannot satisfy the simplest physiological needs of its citizens, then the image of this state becomes not only negative, but even turns out to be somewhere beyond the bounds of the evaluation system. Thus, the first level of A. Maslow's pyramid of needs is absent in our conditional pyramid, being located on the zero "floor". The next step in the pyramid of needs, as you know, is security - one of the main basic conditions for the existence of man, the so-called existential need of man. And here we see that in the image security becomes the first condition for the formation of a favorable image of the country. In peacetime, the means mass media in this or that state broadcast, as a rule, more posts concerning foreign policy other countries in their connection with bilateral/multilateral relations. The prevalence of news about the situation inside the country is usually the result of emergency, extraordinary and special situations (revolutions, natural disasters, political elections, etc.). Thus, it is the nature of the messages in the media that largely determines the aggression/peacefulness of the country and, thus, forms the first level of our perception of this object. The second conditional level in the pyramid of the country's image is the socio-economic policy of the state. Here again, both internal and external aspects are important. Those. people evaluate many factors in this “block”: ensuring the civil rights of the population, the economic situation in the country (the level of GDP, inflation, the stability of the national currency), the investment climate, as well as economic relations with other countries and the fulfillment / non-fulfillment of their obligations in the international arena. At the top of the pyramid is the cultural aspect of the image. It takes into account how civilized the country is, what is the cultural life of citizens, how minority nations and nationalities are treated within the state, their culture, how the country interacts with outside world and whether it participates in cultural exchange, as well as many other factors. The created pyramid is conditional. It is important to understand that a lot of nuances are superimposed on the perception of one object by another, and, above all, the unique characteristics of each side. Thus, the probability of changing the position of the second and third steps in the pyramid is high, depending, for example, on the profession of a person. If the last two levels of the pyramid are variable, then the first is most likely not.

Thus, the image is a psychological image. The concept of "image" is applied to any object that becomes the subject of social cognition. The image of a country is its image, which is formed both in the minds of the citizens of this country (internal image) and in the minds of citizens of other states (external) and is formed as a result of the interaction of a large number of factors. One of the most important factors is safety. Security is an existential need for both an individual and the country as a whole, and in its absence, the value of other needs is reduced to zero.

Based on the concept of the country's image and the factors influencing its formation, it is possible to single out methods for promoting the image.

1.2 Safety as a key factor successful image countries

Why does aggression/peacefulness (security) become the key factors in the perception of this or that state? To answer this question, you need to turn to the pyramid of needs, compiled at the time by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow. A person consciously or unconsciously projects his needs onto others (and to a greater extent, this is why such template pyramids can be constructed). This circumstance allows us to transfer A. Maslow's scheme to the image plane.

The image is a reflection of the degree of realization of the interests and needs of a person in a particular state. And, apparently, it is formed in the mind in the same stepwise and sequential manner, like a pyramid, i.e. upwards. And if, for example, the basic needs in a particular state are not satisfied, then it is hardly possible to talk about its spirituality and healthy image. For example, African countries lead the list of the poorest countries in the world (such as Zambia, Chad, Liberia, etc.). The footage of starving African children shocks all of humanity. What is the image of the same Zambia for the layman? Or the image of Chad? It is probably even somehow blasphemous to talk about the image when it comes to mass starvation, poverty and deadly diseases. Such countries are never included in the image rankings. If a country cannot satisfy the simplest physiological needs of its citizens, then the image of this state becomes not only negative, but even turns out to be somewhere beyond the bounds of the evaluation system. Thus, the first level of A. Maslow's pyramid of needs is absent in our conditional pyramid, being located on the zero "floor". The next step in the pyramid of needs, as you know, is security - one of the main basic conditions for human existence, the so-called existential human need. And here we see that in the image security becomes the first condition for the formation of a favorable image of the country. In peacetime, the media in a given state, as a rule, broadcast more messages relating to the foreign policy of other countries in their connection with bilateral / multilateral relations. The prevalence of news about the situation inside the country is usually the result of emergency, extraordinary and special situations (revolutions, natural disasters, political elections, etc.). Thus, it is the nature of the messages in the media that largely determines the aggression/peacefulness of the country and, thus, forms the first level of our perception of this object. The second conditional level in the pyramid of the country's image is the socio-economic policy of the state. Here again, both internal and external aspects are important. Those. people evaluate many factors in this “block”: ensuring the civil rights of the population, the economic situation in the country (the level of GDP, inflation, the stability of the national currency), the investment climate, as well as economic relations with other countries and the fulfillment / non-fulfillment of their obligations in the international arena. At the top of the pyramid is the cultural aspect of the image. It takes into account how civilized the country is, what is the cultural life of citizens, how minority nations and nationalities are treated within the state, their culture, how the country interacts with the outside world and whether it participates in cultural exchange, as well as many other factors. The created pyramid is conditional. It is important to understand that a lot of nuances are superimposed on the perception of one object by another, and, above all, the unique characteristics of each side. Thus, the probability of changing the position of the second and third steps in the pyramid is high, depending, for example, on the profession of a person. If the last two levels of the pyramid are variable, then the first is most likely not.

Thus, the image is a psychological image. The concept of "image" is applied to any object that becomes the subject of social cognition. The image of a country is its image, which is formed both in the minds of the citizens of this country (internal image) and in the minds of citizens of other states (external) and is formed as a result of the interaction of a large number of factors. One of the most important factors is safety. Security is an existential need for both an individual and the country as a whole, and in its absence, the value of other needs is reduced to zero.

Based on the concept of the country's image and the factors influencing its formation, it is possible to single out methods for promoting the image.

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Why do modern transformations in the military sphere not yet find proper support among the Russians? Why does Russia need an open public policy? Alexander Perendzhiev, Candidate of Political Sciences, expert of the Association of Military Political Scientists, reflects on why a positive image of the state is necessary in the mass public consciousness.

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A positive image of Russia as a means of strengthening national security

Why do modern transformations in the military sphere not yet find proper support among the Russians? Why does Russia need an open public policy? Candidate of political sciences, expert of the Association of Military Political Scientists Alexander Perendzhiev reflects on how the formed image of Russia among representatives of other states determines the policy towards our country and why a positive image of the state is necessary in the mass public consciousness.

On the need to form a positive image of Russia

Issues of the image in general and the image of Russia have already been thoroughly studied by domestic scientists 1 , and in March 2003 the Imageology Academy was created in our country, which unites about a hundred academicians and corresponding members Russian Academy Sciences. 2

The domestic scientific and expert community, we believe, has already figured out the essence of the concept of "image". Therefore, in this article, we plan to analyze the content of the relationship between the image of Russia and domestic national security policy.

To date, there are sufficiently precise criteria by which it is possible to determine the concept of "image of the country".

This is a set of beliefs and feelings of people that arise about the political, historical, ethnographic, socio-economic, moral, psychological and other features of the state.

It is obvious that the subjective idea of ​​the country can be formed as a result of direct personal experience(for example, as a result of living on its territory) or indirectly (according to eyewitnesses, from media materials, etc.).

According to ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, the transformation of the Russian defense sector has been completed. What are the results?

Let us note that the image of a country is a very diverse, sometimes artificially created image of it, which is formed in the minds of people. But since the people themselves are completely different, their perception is also specific; in addition, each person has different information about the country, people's experience of living in it is different.

As a result, the image of the same country in the mind different people different is formed. Often the image of a country is formed in the absence of sufficient information and people's own experience.

In this case, the image is based on mass stereotypes (and sometimes delusions and myths), facts gleaned from the media, literary, cinematic and other sources (even from jokes).

Therefore, it is very important for each state in the formation of its positive image to constantly and very actively influence the information space (both national and international).

It is obvious to us that a positive image of the state in the mass public consciousness is necessary, first of all, for the successful formation and implementation of fundamental national interests. National interests, in turn, are motivated and concretized basic goals of the foreign and domestic policy of the state.

Image and politics as related categories

An analysis of world political practice convinces us that neither the domestic authorities nor the Russian society has yet managed to achieve serious image success.

We have to admit that in world public opinion, the current image of Russia remains rather negative, and does not contribute to the successful implementation of the interests of our country in the international arena.

An analysis of the ratio of positive and negative information about Russia suggests that the information space is a kind of resonator, since in it society reacts sensitively, and sometimes even exaltedly, to what is happening in the world, and the opinions of world leaders are actively broadcast.

About Russia in last years in international information flows, it is spoken and written mostly negatively, and this is a deliberately constructed atmosphere, a kind of informational aura into which it was immersed against the backdrop of imitative modernization.

At the same time, expert knowledge is not yet aimed at proposing an integrating (national and international public opinion) project for the image of the new Russia.

We mean a project that would predetermine the clear boundaries of the image of Russia, offer basic values, symbols, meanings that make up the picture of the world modern Russia and the core of her image.

For the time being, however, the proposed projects for shaping Russia's image are more focused on bringing the real state of our country in line with the schemes and models of political technologists 5 (but not vice versa).

Model of a positive image of Russia

One of Russia's national interests is a reliable system of its national security, 6 dependent on the image of the state.

Our author's hypothesis is the following assumption : the formed image of our country among the rest of the population of the planet (non-Russians) to a large extent determines the policy towards Russia, and can also determine the specific actions of the political leadership of other states in relation to our country.

And, of course, a change in the attitude of the population of a particular country towards Russia can radically change the policy of this state towards our country and then the state of domestic national security.

When building arguments to substantiate the model of a positive image of Russia, one should turn to three main concepts that underlie it:

• self-image
• perceived image
• simulated image

All of them are in an indefinite and unfinished form. Thus, the image of a superpower that accompanied soviet state after the Great Patriotic War, was replaced by a negative perception of Russia in the eyes of both the world and domestic public 7 .

In our opinion, it is obvious that if Russia is perceived by foreign citizens as a criminal or weak state in military and political terms, then perhaps such a circumstance may determine aggressive and / or provocative actions on the part of individual states and international communities.

It is no coincidence that Professor V.V. Serebryannikov writes: “The art of forming a favorable image of states, political and military figures, economic and socio-political structures, armies, etc. known from ancient times. But a real revolution took place in the 20th century, when the matter of shaping the image of various subjects of the state and society became one of the most important components of the political, ideological and informational struggle. 8

Therefore, the image is dialectically interconnected with issues of national security and foreign policy of the state.

The inertia of civil society institutions damages the security of the state

Reflecting on the content of this relationship, it is worth emphasizing that the inertia, passivity of the political leadership, state authorities, and civil society institutions cause truly irreparable damage to the security of the state, society and citizens.

For example, the use of Russian armed forces in South Ossetia in August 2008 clearly showed serious miscalculations in the actions of the Russian authorities and military command and control in the international information space.

Only this passivity can explain the situation when initial stage Georgian aggression (that is, even before the entry Russian troops) public opinion in a number of European countries and the United States was ready to recognize Russia as an aggressor.

Not receiving from the leadership of Russia and the domestic Ministry of Defense an objective and constantly increasing in volume new information, the top political leaders of a number foreign countries in fact, they provided all kinds of support to Georgia, primarily informational.

After the introduction of an additional contingent of Russian troops into the conflict zone, Internet sites and numerous "blogs" literally "exploded" with indignant messages condemning "the aggression of imperial totalitarian Russia against small freedom-loving Georgia." nine

And Georgia itself at that moment was positioned in the information space as a nation that not only restores its territorial integrity, but allegedly also protects the southern borders of the Russian Federation from "terrorists and bandits."

In our opinion, in this particular case, the situation was saved by the fact that for Russia the armed phase of the conflict was fleeting and, on the whole, relatively successful. "Otherwise, - notes a specialist from the Military University O.N. Zabuzov, - the information machine launched by M. Saakashvili, with the clear support of the leading world powers, could seriously worsen the image of Russia in the eyes of the world community and individual foreign citizens.” 10

Even then, political scientists paid attention to the not very high efficiency of the Russian state power in forming a positive public opinion about our country.

So, for example, G. Pavlovsky noted that “Russian accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide were immediately copied by the belligerent Georgia, which recognized the potential for political action in this, and immediately - already from the Georgian side - sent to European courts in the form of correctly delivered papers. ... And our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice repeat all the same formulas, but no one bothered to draw up the simplest papers. 11

However, despite the fact that more than a year has passed since the beginning of the events in South Ossetia, the Russian leadership has not been able to convince the world community of the complete correctness of their actions.

On September 29, 2009, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on the “Russian-Georgian conflict”, in which it expressed dissatisfaction with the allegedly inadequate actions of our government and the military 12 (although Georgia’s aggression was still officially recognized).

From this we conclude that while Russian state does not work ahead of the curve in preventing information threats, and in fact cannot form the world public opinion that Russia needs.

In addition, political fraud, political provocations, betrayals, inaction, uncertainty and instability can pose a threat to national security, among others.

It is known that political provocation is a phenomenon that can influence (primarily due to its shocking effect) the consciousness of society, including certain social and professional groups, parties and socio-political movements, representatives of science, culture, health and etc.

Political provocation is used in many countries as a means of economic, political, ideological and psychological struggle, compromising competitors. It is used as a means of destroying political values, guidelines of the individual, society and the state, and, ultimately, forms a negative image.

A vivid example of a political and informational provocation against Russia, which negatively affected its image, is the case with the Arctic Sea ship in the summer of 2009. The incoming negative (in relation to Russia) information was not only not refuted by the Russian authorities, but even long time and was not commented on by domestic media and PR structures.

It seems that in our country they mistakenly considered that there is nothing dangerous in the hijacking of a ship for Russia and its image. However, the real actions of the media, information and PR agencies of a number of states have refuted Russian confidence.

Thus, taking advantage of the lack of information from our country, numerous reports appeared in foreign media and on Internet sites about nuclear weapons allegedly illegally transported on the "Arctic Sea", about the alleged dismantling of "Russian mafia clans" and even about a possible old-fashioned knocking out of insurance from by the owners of the ship.

The number of unrealistic, and sometimes even fantastic versions of what was happening (on the ship and in connection with the ship) was estimated in the information space by several dozen. In the absence of an objective and balanced position of Russia in connection with the temporary disappearance of the vessel, one expert even suggested: mysterious disappearance ship was a theatrical performance, the ultimate goal of which is to provide Russian President expanded military powers. 13

We believe that there is no point in commenting on any versions. In our opinion, the seizure of the ship by pirates, conflicting information about its location, as well as attempts by foreign news agencies to discredit the Russian crew of the ship, suggest another provocation against Russia and its citizens.

And the nationality of the pirates also gives many countries the basis for such a proposal, since they all turned out to be ethnic Russians, although citizens different states- Estonia, Latvia and Russia.

Reasons for the weakness of the position of leadership in the international information space

It should be recognized that the insufficiently active position of the Russian leadership in the international information space contributed to the birth of various rumors, fantasies and conjectures. It is these images, specially (not by us) constructed in the information space (according to the apt expression of the French philosopher Jean Baudriard - simulacra 14) that continue to influence the image of Russia.

The unwillingness to actively comment on the often biased and non-objective information about Russia and its citizens by government and specialized structures gave rise to a global public opinion consider all these rumors and conjectures groundless. And as a result, once again the informational provocation had a negative impact on the image of our country and its national security.

What is the reason for the weakness of the position of the top political and state leadership in the international information space? Why are domestic power and specialized structures inferior to similar foreign and international institutions in the formation of a positive image of our country? Let us formulate several reasons for this situation.

First of all We believe that political decisions in Russia are still of a closed nature and are made by a narrow circle of people. In the last decade in our country “The process of making the most important state decisions acquired an openly clan and even “family” character, the role of its shadow component increased dramatically and became obvious to the whole society.” 15

According to researcher V. Vorotnikov, the majority of the population is actually excluded from the political process, the degree of its political participation is low, which objectively reflects the measure of social representation, public control, publicity and civil will. 16 This reason is periodically recognized by the President of Russia V.V. Putin and Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation D.A. Medvedev. 17

Secondly , many scientists and politicians note that at present there is no real political opposition in Russia, which should contribute to the dissemination of political information, ensuring real, and not just formal freedom of the media. This, in turn, contributes to underdevelopment information technologies, the control of the media only by large media tycoons and / or the state.

We therefore believe that the Russian government YES. Medvedev correctly formulates the problem of formation in our country information society, which is still slowly being solved.

Thirdly , in Russia the gradual “bureaucratization” of politics continues (the number of officials is growing, it is not possible to curb corruption, new institutions of state regulation are not being created). YES. Medvedev, in his article "Russia, Forward!" I was forced to admit that the all-powerful Russian bureaucracy hinders the innovative development of the country. eighteen

Fourth , in our opinion, the task of forming a positive image of Russia in the international information space has not become important and relevant for the entire Russian public policy. Such a conclusion follows, among other things, from the excessive overload of state authorities with various functions (according to the Government of the Russian Federation, the state administration in our country, even after the administrative reform, is obliged to perform more than 3.5 thousand various functions).

In addition, it should be recognized that in our country a system of specialized institutions has not been formed, designed to conduct state policy only in the information space (we mean the system of media, news agencies and PR structures).

Fifth , our country has a much smaller (compared to European countries and the United States) experience in the information space using public relations methods (rather than government propaganda).

The first of them is the contradiction between the need for a radical transformation of the economy, social sphere and ensuring the continuity of presidential power.

The second contradiction lies in the content and direction of socio-economic transformations, since some power structures are more busy satisfying their needs than reforms in the interests of society and citizens. 19

It turns out that in conditions when the interests of the authorities, the public and the majority of citizens are not synchronized with each other, the contradictions and conflict between them will continue to deepen. Meanwhile, the image of Russia (as well as any state) and the state of its national security are interconnected in various ways.

For example, Switzerland does not have a powerful armed forces, but the image of the success of this historically neutral state and the success of the Swiss create for the entire world community the image of a safe country in all areas. public life(political, economic, social, etc.).

Hence the attraction for businesses and individuals around the world to deposit money in Swiss banks. In turn, the growth in the well-being of the Chinese and the economic success of the Celestial Empire on the world stage create the image of the PRC as a country that is currently capable of solving any problems for itself (even in the context of the global financial and economic crisis).

Therefore, along with economic growth in the PRC, the image of this country as a strong military-political state is being strengthened. Almost a direct connection is observed between the image of the Armed Forces of the state and the state of its national security.

What is the reason for the weakness of the position of the top political and state leadership in the international information space? Why do domestic power and specialized structures yield to similar foreign and international institutions in shaping a positive image of our country? Let us formulate several reasons for this situation.

First, we believe that political decisions in Russia are still closed and taken by a narrow circle of people.

According to researcher V. Vorotnikov, the majority of the population is actually excluded from the political process, the degree of its political participation is low, which objectively reflects the measure of social representation, public control, publicity and civil will. This reason is periodically recognized by the President of Russia V.V. Putin and Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation D.A. Medvedev.

Secondly, many scientists and politicians note that at present there is no real political opposition in Russia, which should promote the dissemination of political information, ensure real, and not just formal freedom of the media. This, in turn, contributes to the weak development of information technology, the control of the media only by large media magnates and / or the state. In this regard, we believe that the head of the Russian government, D.A. Medvedev correctly formulates the problem of the formation of an information society in our country, which is still being solved slowly.

Thirdly, gradual “bureaucratization” of politics continues in Russia (the number of officials is growing, corruption is not being curbed, new institutions of state regulation are not being created). YES. Medvedev, in his article "Russia, Forward!" I was forced to admit that the all-powerful Russian bureaucracy hinders the innovative development of the country.

Fourth, in our opinion, the task of forming a positive image of Russia in the international information space has not become important and relevant for the entire Russian state policy. Such a conclusion follows, among other things, from the excessive overload of state authorities with various functions (according to the estimates of the Government of the Russian Federation, the state administration in our country, even after the administrative reform, is obliged to perform more than 3.5 thousand various functions). In addition, it should be recognized that in our country a system of specialized institutions has not been formed, designed to conduct state policy only in the information space (we mean the system of media, news agencies and PR structures).

Fifthly, our country has much less (compared to European countries and the US) experience in working in the information space using public relations methods (rather than state propaganda).

The reasons we have listed allow us to formulate two fundamental contradictions in contemporary Russian politics.

The first of them is the contradiction between the need for a radical transformation of the economy and the social sphere and ensuring the continuity of presidential power. In our opinion, the main political players and public authorities prefer to be more engaged in the search for a "successor" to the head of state than in the development of the national economy.

The second contradiction lies in the content and direction of socio-economic transformations, since some power structures are more busy satisfying their needs than reforms in the interests of society and citizens. It turns out that in conditions when the interests of the authorities, the public and the majority of citizens are not synchronized with each other, the contradictions and conflict between them will continue to deepen.

Meanwhile, the image of Russia (as well as any state) and the state of its national security are interconnected in various ways.

For example, Switzerland does not have powerful armed forces, but the image of the success of this historically neutral state and the success of the Swiss create for the entire world community the image of a safe country in all areas of public life (political, economic, social, etc.). Hence the attraction for businesses and individuals around the world to deposit money in Swiss banks.

In turn, the growth in the well-being of the Chinese and the economic success of the Celestial Empire on the world stage create the image of the PRC as a country that is currently capable of solving any problems for itself (even in the context of the global financial and economic crisis). Therefore, along with economic growth in the PRC, the image of this country as a strong military-political state is being strengthened.

Almost a direct connection is observed between the image of the Armed Forces of the state and the state of its national security. The image of the army of the USA, Israel, Germany, China is high, therefore high level located in these countries and national security.

Many states that are at the stage of their formation, in order to increase the level of their national security, are working to form a positive image of their Armed Forces as militarily strong. Examples of such states are Venezuela, Kazakhstan, North Korea and Iran.

Can the transformations to bring the Russian Armed Forces to a new look be considered as actions to create a different image of the Russian army? In our opinion, definitely yes. However, while reducing numerical strength, the replacement of a large number of military positions with civilian ones, and the positions of officers and ensigns with sergeants, causes concern and an ambiguous assessment in Russian society. So, for example, at the next regional stage of the All-Russian Forum "Strategy 2020" held in Blagoveshchensk on October 2, 2009, the Hero spoke harshly on the issue of modern transformations in the military sphere. Soviet Union, head of the committee of the Amur Legislative Assembly on Veterans Affairs Yu. Kuznetsov.

“At one time, there were 7 divisions on the territory of the Amur Region, and now we have, excuse the non-parliamentary expression, a castrated army,” he said. “Veterans, old people are turning to me, what will happen to the army, where are we going, who will defend the border?” . Thus, in Russian society, there is still an opinion that the formation of a new image of the Russian Armed Forces does not yet contribute to strengthening the national security of the country.

It should be noted that the transformations themselves Russian army began without wide public coverage in the media and other information channels of the military reform plan. In this regard, we believe, objectively there is some public discontent.

“The immediate reason for the strengthening of opposition sentiments in the military environment was the hasty and large-scale transformations not accepted in military circles,” writes D.L. Tsybakov, - A dull murmur turned into open indignation when information began to leak into the press about a fundamental change in the functioning of military organization states".

Only after the already begun structural changes and official measures in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation caused unrest in Russian society, did high-ranking representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defense begin to comment in the press. At the same time, there are still few comments from the first persons of the state.

“Misunderstanding and direct dissatisfaction with the course and results of the radical military reform being carried out by the Ministry of Defense is growing in Russian society and in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The truth of life is that practically no one in the country can clearly explain the idea, essence and goals of the ongoing reforms, the stages of the reform and the methods of its implementation,” the Address of veterans of the Armed Forces to the President says. Russian Federation.

All these facts, unfortunately, cause distrust in the ongoing reforms in the military sphere and do not find broad public support. And this, in turn, can damage the national security of Russia.

Based on this, we believe that the less information the authorities hide from the public, the more citizens will trust their government. And the sooner the broad masses of the population will support the authorities in any matters, including in ensuring national security. As noted by the deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, chairman of the committee on constitutional legislation and state building V. Pligin: "Our security will lie in how healthy, sound society we can build, and how much it will cooperate with the state."

However, so far in the Russian political reality there is no wide information of the population about the ongoing transformations in the military sphere, and, accordingly, support for these transformations on the part of the population and, above all, military personnel, veterans. military service and members of their families.

“The fact that many of the modern undertakings, apparently justified by time, is not taken into account by the military community,” writes D.L. Tsybakov, - The reason for the dissatisfaction of everyone who is in any way connected with the army lies in the unceremonious and very radical nature of the transformations carried out without taking into account the opinions of well-known military specialists and experts. The methodology of the ongoing reforms, the style of communication of the new management team of the Ministry of Defense cause in many respects fair criticism from many honored professionals of the military craft.

Why do modern transformations in the military sphere not yet find proper support among the population of the country? In our opinion, the answer must be sought in the peculiarities of the socio-political structure of Russia. A political scientist needs to answer the question: is modern Russian society open or closed?

“An open society,” writes A.S. Akhiezer, - perhaps in a civil society, where culture and the entire system of relations are oriented towards stimulating the development of the individual as a subject of creative innovation. In civil society, a state is being formed that is able to protect the rights of everyone to form cultural innovations ... to fight for free participation in political dialogue at all levels of society.”

Why does Russia need an open public policy? Many domestic experts note that today in Russia the state, represented by the state apparatus, is often guided by outdated rules of administrative management and interaction with society that have long lost their effectiveness. Citizens of the country expect from their political and state leaders not only normative acts or pointing recommendations, but also seeking advice from society itself, as well as concrete deeds to provide for the urgent needs of people. After all, power receives the right to exist and lead the country from society, and, not noticing its fundamental interests, it seems to be deprived of its original foundation. And this, in turn, is fraught with the main danger for the existence of power structures in their current form.

In our opinion, an open public policy will enable the public and socio-political institutions to control the actions of the authorities. In fact, such a policy will discourage inefficient and inappropriate use national resources, including those allocated for the needs of national security and defense of the country. Openness and publicity will contribute not only to the formation of the image of the country as a militarily strong state and fair in the use of military force.

Modern Russia needs, first of all, the image of an effective state capable of protecting its interests and the interests of its own citizens in any conditions. At the same time, it is necessary that the Russian top leadership form its own image of a government concerned with the realization of the interests of Russians and the protection of the citizens of their country.

So, the above features of the political regime in Russia have a direct impact on the formation of the image of our state, which, as we found out, in turn affects the state of national security. Often, it is the closeness and narrowness of the political decisions made, and the presence of a numerous and not always effective bureaucratic apparatus in Russia that do not allow us to form a positive image of our state.

What measures need to be taken to create conditions that will allow forming a positive image of Russia?

First, we consider it necessary to fundamentally change the system of influence on society by the authorities. Namely, it is necessary to move from the system of public administration, which implies an administrative style of management and the presence of a large bureaucratic apparatus, to a system of state regulation, which is based on the principle political impact on society by the political elite and reliance on the processes of self-regulation and self-organization of society and citizens.

Secondly, it is necessary to create strong domestic information structures (like SNN or BBC) that could successfully compete with similar world information structures.

Thirdly, it is long overdue to train a large number of professional "PR specialists", image makers in the field of creating a positive image of Russia, promptly responding to constantly emerging challenges and threats in the international information space.

Of course, all these specialists should be arranged according to their specialty. In general, our country needs a program to create a positive image of Russia. In this program, there should be a place not only for state authorities, but also for business, civil society, political parties and citizens. Only in this case, this program will be successfully implemented.

Used Books:

1. See for example: Vasishcheva A.V., Nenasheva A.V. Image: definition of the central concept of imageology // Social and humanitarian knowledge. - 2005. - No. 4. - S. 311-317;

Berezkina O.P. Political image in modern political culture: Abstract dis. … doc. polit. Sciences. - St. Petersburg, 1999, etc.

3. Cm. scientific works of O.P. Berezkina, M. Bocharova, E.A. Galumova, L.G. Lapteva, E.A. Petrova, L.I. Pirogova, S.M. Tuchkova, E.V. Frolova, A. Chumikova and others .

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6. See: National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation until 2020

7. Cm.: Features of the transformation of the image of Russia

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9. Armed conflict in South Ossetia and its consequences. - M.: Krasnaya Zvezda, 2009. - S. 87.

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13. Cm.: "Flying Dutchman": the strange disappearance of the Arctic Sea

14. A simulacrum is an image without an original, a representation of something that doesn't really exist. For example, J. Baudrillard called the 1991 war in the Persian Gulf a simulacrum, in the sense that there was no way for those watching this war on CNN to know if there was something really there, or if it was just a dance of pictures and excited propaganda reports on their TV screens. Cm .:

15 . See, for more details: Voslensky M. Nomenclature. - M.: Zakharov, 2005. - S. 372-375.

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18 .Cm. there.

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20. Cm.:

21. See details:

22. See, for more details: Appeal of veterans of the Armed Forces to the President of the Russian Federation: The military leadership will have to answer to the nation for the quality of decisions made and the results of actions

23. Cm.: "Strategy 2020" was projected on the Amur region

24. See details: Tsybakov D.L. Is the increase in the activity of opposition veteran organizations the result of the “Serdyukov reform”?

25. Cm.: Akhiezer A.S. How to “open” a closed society . - M.: Master, 1997. - S. 16-17.

26. Cm.: Bayakhcheva S.L., Illarionov S.I. The ideology of civil society. - M.: RIN ProfEko LLC, 2006. - S. 19.

27. See details: State regulation in modern political process Russia. Scientific monograph / VK. Belozerov, S.V. Demchenko, I.M. Karelina and others - M.-Orel: ORAGS, 2009. - S. 17-18.