Neologization of Political Processes in Russian Society

The article presents the results of an analysis of neologisms based on a continuous sample of texts from Russian political blogs, the authors of which are not professional politicians but are supporting the current political course of Russia. New words reflect social changes and societal values. Neologisms are characterized by high linguistic activity through expressiveness and axiological richness acting as a way of attaching value to the designated objects and introducing them into the social space. Sixty-five neologisms were identified and combined into four semantic groups: toponyms, anthroponyms, ethnonyms, and designations of real or potential opponents of Russia. The analysis showed the presence of agonism: opponents of the course of the Russian Federation receive exclusively negative assessments and ridicule while nicknames of the state leader and supporters of Russia, which are rarely mentioned in the blogs, are endowed with only a positive assessment. All neologisms except toponyms are nouns denoting persons or groups of persons. The most productive types of word-formation were affixation, telescoping, and metathesis; the neologisms formed by telescoping carry a pronounced negative connotation and are characterized by uncertainty of meaning. The study revealed not only new linguistic units and their connotations but also showed that in the text of blogs neologisms play the role of verbal elimination of opponents who do not share the author’s opinion.