Constructing a discourse of power through cognitive biases (based on V. V. Putin’s speech at SPIEF 2023)

The aim of the study is to systematize the linguistic means of verbalizing cognitive biases in the process of constructing a power narrative in political discourse. The article examines the mechanisms of indirect influence of cognitive biases on public consciousness in conditions of crisis political communication. Special attention is paid to the analysis of discursive strategies, linguo-cognitive mechanisms, and linguistic means of realization of the identified cognitive biases (framing effect, in-group favoritism, dichotomous and emotional thinking). The scientific novelty of the research lies in identifying and systematically describing the linguistic means of verbalizing key cognitive biases in political discourse based on the material of V. V. Putin’s speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2023 (SPIEF 2023), as well as in operationalizing the concept of “cognitive bias” for the purposes of discourse research. As a result, it was established that cognitive biases, verbalized through linguistic means, contribute to the implementation of “smart power” by integrating ideological attitudes into a logical and natural form, perceived as the will of the “collective majority”, which allows managing public consciousness in times of crisis.