Representation of Russia in contemporary Еnglish-language state media of Ethiopia

This article analyzes how Russia is presented in the Ethiopia's state-owned, English- language media after the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Based on textual data, the authors develop and analyze thematic categories of the representation of Russia in the Ethiopian media, with an emphasis on aspects of economy, religion and ideology, which were identified as key themes. The empirical basis of the study comprises publications from The Ethiopian Herald, owned by the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA – the oldest in the country, operating since 1935, and the most widespread with a network of 36 offices located throughout the country), and Walta Info, owned by Walta Media and Communication Corporate; both media companies are under government control and financed by the federal government of Ethiopia through the ruling “Prosperity Party”. News from all formats (including editorials, columns, etc.) were selected from news websites in which the word “Russia” and/or “Moscow”, “Putin”, “Terekhin” (Russian ambassador to Ethiopia and representative of the aggressor country to the African Union), “Soviet Union” or derivatives thereof were mentioned in the headline or in the text more than three times, for the period from February 24, 2022 to October 24, 2024, as a result of which 323 out of 1029 news publications from this timeframe were analyzed. The article found that the presentation of the image of Russia in the state media of Ethiopia for the period from February 24, 2022 to October 24, 2024 was almost exclusively positive: 73% of the analyzed publications present a positive image of Russia, 19% – neutral, and only 8% – negative. At the same time, the authors note that the share of news that presented Russia negatively and neutrally was highest between February and June 2022 – that is, there was a mostly neutral or negative presentation of Russia as the one that launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.