Image of Kaliningrad (Königsberg) in British media
Образ Калининграда (Кенигсберга) по материалам британской прессы
Abstract
The article builds up the image of Kaliningrad (Königsberg) on the basis of publications in modern British media (BBC News, the Times and several others) of the last 3 decades. The articles were selected by key-words Search (Kaliningrad/Königsberg/Kaliningrad- Königsberg). This method gave 70 stories from BBC News and 65 articles from The Times (some articles from the Guardian, the Independent and the Sun are also included). The techniques of creating the image with linguistic means are described. The historical, social, political, economic and cultural aspects of inculcating the image into the readers’ minds are dwelt on. The main topics discussed in the publications are: 1) World War 2; 2) German heritage in the city (I. Kant, etc.); 3) downs and ups in the development of the region; 4) military issues and worries of neighbor countries (Poland, Lithuania); 5) Soccer World Cup 2018 (Kaliningrad was one of its locations). Several other topics are also covered. The analysis, in general, shows that the image created does not look very positive, except for the fantastic atmosphere during World Cup.
Keywords:
city image article topics key-words geo-political importance of Kaliningrad region World War II echoes and modern military issues World Cup 2018 relationships with neighbour countries (Poland, Lithuania)References
BBC NEWS. 2. No you Kant: Russians reject German thinker’s name for airport. 4 December, 2018.
BBC NEWS 3. World Cup 2018: Kaliningrad – the venue next door to the West by Sarah Rainsford. 12 June, 2018.
BBC NEWS 4. Kaliningrad: The forgotten land by Steven Paulikas. Saturday, 26 March, 2005.
BBC NEWS 5. Germany starts Kaliningrad link. 12 February, 2004.
BBC NEWS 6. Kaliningrad rediscovers its history by Alexander Kwiatkowski. 16 September, 2002.
BBC NEWS 7. Lincolnshire WWII Lancaster Bomber crew plaque unveiled. 9 July, 2014.
BBC NEWS 8. US tanks and troops in Poland a threat, Russia says. 12 January, 2017.
BBC NEWS 9. Lithuania: Soviet-era statues offered a home in Russia. 29 July, 2015.
BBC NEWS 10. Philosopher Kant attacked by Russian graffiti artist. 19 March, 2015.
BBC NEWS 11. Kaliningrad mulls border problem. 21 June, 2002.
BBC NEWS 12. Kaliningrad erases stains of past by Laura Sheeter. 16 October, 2006.
BBC Radio 4. Kafka, Kant and Lost Capitals. Producer Paul Kobrak. In: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04jlntn.
IRISH TIMES. Letter from Kaliningrad: A World Cup venue where no one cares by K. Duggun. Thu, 28 Jun, 2018.
THE TIMES 1. The Suwalki Corridor: Moscow’s invasion route to Europe. 8 September, 2018.
THE TIMES 2. Ethnic Germans hemmed in and hounded by Putin’s steamroller. 25 February, 2018.
THE TIMES 3. Lithuania to fence off exclave. 18 January, 2017.
