VI.

Previous articles have shown that in the last decade metaphorical models with conceptual vectors of cruelty, aggressiveness and competition, deviations from the natural order of things (war, crime, sports, etc.) have developed.

Another group of strong conceptual vectors of the modern Russian political metaphor is the improbability of what is happening, the insincerity of politicians, the excessive carnival of events that are in the center of public attention, the lack of independence of public politicians - the presence of some secret scriptwriters, directors and coaches in the political life of the country (theater, game and sports metaphor).

Perhaps the reader felt that the mirror of political metaphor portrays modern Russia in an unnecessarily gloomy light. Unfortunately, this is true. Therefore, the question is quite natural: "What does the metaphorical mirror reflect and does it distort reality too much?"

Developing the conceptual model "metaphor - mirror" presented in the title of this series of articles, it should be noted that this huge mirror (an integral metaphorical system of the Russian political language) consists of many small mirrors - specific metaphorical word usage. Each of them reflects the worldview of one person, often metaphorical use of words conveys only the momentary mood of this person. But if such a metaphor is picked up by other people, then such an image becomes a socially significant fact: "My colleague Yuri Yakovlev said: "We were trampled underfoot, all over the world Russia is perceived as the devil knows what country", and then such joy... "(Zh. Alferov). When the phrase "We were trampled..." is pronounced " wide

* See: Russian speech. 2001. NN 1, 3, 4; 2002. NN 1, 2.

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a well-known in narrow circles" physicist is his private opinion, but when this phrase is remembered and repeated (which means that the image seemed to him accurate and expressive) by a Nobel laureate and at the same time a State Duma deputy, when an interview with this phrase is published by a newspaper with a multi-million circulation-this is no longer a private opinion and a reflection of a fact that is significant for political discourse.

Aman Tuleyev exclaims passionately: "Russia is now a GULAG, a crime gulag." Of course, this criminal metaphor reflects not just the personal perception of a particular person, but the ideas of the governor of one of the largest regions of Russia, a member of the Federation Council and a presidential candidate, for whom millions of voters voted in the elections. And this use of words serves as another confirmation of the productivity of the metaphorical model: "modern Russia is a criminal world."

Irina Khakamada writes: "I came up with the lame camel theory. The lame camel is Russia, America is the strong camel leading the way." And it is quite understandable (although it is very bitter to realize) why a State Duma deputy, one of the leaders of a major party, a former federal minister compares his native country with an ugly animal, and not with the leader of a caravan. But this statement, published in the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, undoubtedly affects the social assessment of the state of affairs in Russia and, at the same time, once again testifies to the prevalence of the zoological metaphor in modern Russian political speech and to the typical conceptual vectors of such a metaphor.

Grigory Yavlinsky, reflecting on the future of his native country, uses an "unhealthy" metaphor: "Everyone today is arguing about where Russia should go. And I say: she can't go anywhere, she's in a wheelchair." Unfortunately, metaphors of illness have become almost a typical means of metaphorical representation of Russian reality at the turn of the century.

Such examples are easy to continue: some political leaders express themselves vividly and aphoristically, others-confusedly and clumsily, but all of them constantly talk about the diseases of Russia, about criminal actions or at least the plans of their political opponents, call for a war against the predators that torment Russia until complete victory over criminal clans, demand to stop the political farce, etc. there are practically no metaphorical statements in our file system in which the modern political elite would represent their native country as a troika rushing forward or a powerful ship going through storms, as a blooming garden, as a healthy organism that is not afraid of any infections, or as a caring one

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the mother of her children. It is precisely these facts (the prevalence of some conceptual metaphors and the almost complete absence of others) that allow us to speak about the reliability of the picture recorded in the metaphorical mirror.

A significant part of the studied metaphorical nominations characterize the state of affairs not in the whole country, but only in specific ministries and departments, in individual parties, regions, etc. Of course, "lawlessness" in a particular state or public structure, "disease" that affects a single city or just a single official-do not allow us to draw conclusions the conclusion that this is the case in the entire vast power. Each of these metaphors is only a small detail, an inconspicuous piece of glass in a huge mosaic, but such images are the implementation of models that really exist in the public consciousness.

It is important to emphasize that the metaphorical mirror reflects not the real state of affairs in Russia, but its perception in the national consciousness. Reality and its awareness in the social mentality, of course, do not always coincide. In the history of civilization, many facts are known when citizens of a rapidly developing country believed that they were living in a very difficult era, but there were also cases when hungry half-slaves were full of optimism and sincerely sang about their happy lot. Our tasks do not include a detailed assessment of the social situation in modern Russia, but the facts show that in the popular consciousness this situation is assessed as very difficult. At the same time, it seems that the metaphors of disease, crime, war and farce favored by many politicians and journalists no longer find the same response, that people are too tired of the torrents of filth and cruelty.

It can be assumed that, in addition to the real complexity of the social situation in modern Russia, the development of the corresponding metaphorical models in propaganda and political speech was also influenced by some other factors.

First, it is difficult to recall a time in Russia when the overwhelming majority of society would have been fully satisfied with the central and local subjects of political power. Apparently, there are some genes in our national consciousness of eternal dissatisfaction with the present, nostalgia for the past and hopes for miraculous recipes. These qualities are especially enhanced in times of political instability.

Secondly, propaganda and political speech has its own laws and uses special communication strategies and tactics. At all times and in all countries, opposition parties strive to show the voters how poorly the ruling regime manages the power given to it, to what an unenviable position it has been brought.-

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location. In many countries, the opposition actively discusses the low moral level of officials - representatives of the ruling party. Accordingly, the "party of power" sharply criticizes the opposition and explains the existing problems in the state as a heavy legacy inherited from its predecessors, the machinations of the opposition (and other enemies), or at least objective circumstances. And the more acute the political situation in the country, the more aggressive the metaphors become.

Third, during the Soviet period, our newspapers, under ideological pressure, were "optimistically oriented": positive reports about life in the Soviet country prevailed. In the post-Soviet period, the opposite trend is observed: in the media, a negative assessment prevails. Such information is very popular in the free press of all countries, but even in Russia this general trend seems to be amplified due to the fact that since Perestroika, savoring "black stuff" is considered a sign of freedom and courage of the author. Balanced opinions and objective information have not yet become the main criteria for evaluating the work of a particular publication in Russia.

The considered features of modern Russian political and journalistic speech clearly indicate the reasons for the noticeable predominance of metaphors with conceptual vectors of anxiety, aggressiveness, and disbelief. We are seeing the activation of precisely those models that are in demand in the era.

It seems that our society (including many politicians and journalists) it has not yet fully realized that freedom of speech does not exclude at least moral responsibility for what has been said, that by throwing mud at political opponents, it is impossible to keep your own hands clean, and such mud has the properties of a boomerang. Shocking images of society are quite natural for political adventurers and brawlers, but they are completely inappropriate in the speech of people who are confident and enjoy the trust of society. In the popular consciousness, people are rightly condemned who, for the sake of a red word, do not spare their own father and their native country. We need to learn (as we have learned in countries with a rich tradition of free speech) to distinguish respectable publications from the tabloid press, and serious politicians from scandalous ones.

At the same time, the revealed picture shows an unmistakable pain for Russia, a desire to highlight the most burning problems with the help of metaphorical hyperbole, and a desire for change precisely in those areas that the political metaphor most consistently conceptualizes with strong vectors of anxiety, aggressiveness, and deviations from the natural order of things.

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It is important to emphasize once again that these images do not characterize the real state of affairs in Russia, but its reflection in the political consciousness. As already mentioned, political reality and its awareness in the social mentality do not always correspond to each other, and in this case, the mirror of the political metaphor multiplies all the real problems (as the media downplayed them during the period of stagnation). We believe that our country will overcome all difficulties and confirm its status as a great power many more times. Our people, at least, are no more stupid or lazy than many other peoples who have achieved prosperity and respect in the modern world.

The political language of the new Russia is still being formed, but far from everything in it meets the real needs of society. There is no doubt that in the near future the necessary tools will be created for a balanced description of social reality, and that political hyperbole will finally go out of fashion. There are increasingly visible signs that the public consciousness is already tired of criminal, military and theatrical metaphors, from the representation of the native country as a sick organism or animal kingdom, that society is waiting for completely new conceptual images. This allows us to hope that the Russian political language of the new century will be distinguished by the actualization of completely different metaphorical models, and that the new metaphor will contain fewer images imbued with the conceptual vectors of anxiety, danger, aggressiveness, insincerity, and doublethink.

A conceptual metaphor can be a powerful tool for transforming public consciousness, that is, it can influence the system of people's basic ideas about themselves, their country and their role in its development. Therefore, with a change in the system of conceptual metaphors, our citizens will no longer feel like pawns, cogs, suckers, soldiers, guinea pigs, actors, passengers of a sinking ship or an airplane hijacked by terrorists. These will be metaphors for a society that is confident, developing and at the same time does not forget about fundamental national values and priorities.

Ekaterinburg

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