THE KYRGYZ MEDIA’S PORTRAYAL OF THE CRIMEAN CRISIS AND ITS IMPACT ON KYRGYZ PUBLIC OPINION

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the news coverage of the Crimean crisis by the Kyrgyz mass media. Nearly all Kyrgyz mass media, including popular internet news sources, covered the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation. However, despite facts that provide evidence that an annexation took place some Kyrgyz news institutions and the majority of Kyrgyz citizens did not call the event an annexation; instead, citizens and media typically used more ‘neutral’ words to describe this event. Data for this paper is based on a frame analysis of two popular Kyrgyz internet news sources, Akipress and Vecherniy Bishkek. The aim of this analysis is to identify the ideological orientation of mass media presentations of the Crimean crisis. Some Kyrgyz media have a pro-Russia ideological orientation. Data on Kyrgyz public opinion is based on responses to a questionnaire