Using images of the Soviet past in the rhetoric of “Just Russia” and the Liberal Democratic Party

The article examines the appeal to the Soviet past in the rhetoric of two Russian parliamentary political parties: «Just Russia» and LDPR. The authors analyze the narratives used in the discourse of these parties, the goals of appealing to the Soviet heritage and the influence of the characteristics of the parties on their rhetoric.
The research was conducted on the basis of the texts published on the official websites of the parties. The authors highlight the main speakers of the party addressing to the image of the Soviet past, the volume of references to the Soviet past in the texts, the reasons of mentioning the Soviet past, events and persons to whom the authors refer, the characteristics of the assessment of the past, the use of the image of the past as a tool of identification and self-identification.
The study revealed the stylistic and thematic heterogeneity and inconsistency of discourses about the Soviet in the rhetoric of «Just Russia» and LDPR. The LDPR rhetoric is mainly dominated by the negative representation of the Soviet system. The positive references prevail in the texts of representatives of «Just Russia». A positive image of the Soviet appears in the narratives of the LDPR in the context of the Great Patriotic War and Victory. In addition, there is another frequently mentioned topic in the textes of «Just Russia» – the social achievements of the Soviet Union. The parties use the discourse of the Soviet past to present their program provisions. They also utilize it as an instrument of party self-identification and a means of distancing themselves from their main political opponent – the Communist Party, and in the case of «Just Russia» from the «party of power», liberal political actors and non-sistemic opposition. 

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