The Value of Freedom of Speech in the Periodical Press of Modern Russia (Based on the Materials of Content Analysis)

Freedom of speech is one of the tools of social control and indicators of the level of democratic freedoms in society. As a form of representation of experience, as well as a tool for legitimizing power, the media provide insights into public attitudes towards freedom of speech. This article presents the results of a content analysis aimed at identifying changes in the image of freedom of speech in the media. The data obtained in the course of the author’s research demonstrated the transformation of the image of “freedom of speech” that occurred in the weekly socio-political newspaper Arguments and Facts in the period from 1992 to 2022. An increase in the volume of publications mentioning the unit under study, qualitative changes in the understanding of freedom of speech, its cognitive, value and emotional content have been revealed. There has been a sharp increase in the number of anonymous articles by 2022. The main subject of freedom of speech is the media, and the main form of expression of the right to freedom of speech is the right to disseminate information. There are also no-ticeable changes in the direction of actions regarding freedom of speech, with a noticeable tendency towards deliberation and restrictions. A shift in focus from the domestic political situation to foreign countries has been noted.