Evolution of Russia`s Image in German Printed Media after the Ukrainian Crisis Using the Example of «die Zeit»

This paper analyzes the evolution of the image of Russia in the German media system to prove the existence of a positive trend in the formation of Russia’s image. The choice of print media is due to the high role and widespread press in Germany, as well as the credibility of the newspaper "Die Zeit". The use of mass media for the purpose of creating and changing the image was rarely analyzed by scientists specializing in international relations. This study also proves that the media is an important tool of foreign policy as an element of public opinion management. In order to prove the hypothesis the term "international image" was defined and its role in international relations was defined. Then the specificity of the factors of the Russian media image formation and the peculiarities of the German print media space were analyzed. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the newspaper "Die Zeit" were used as an evidence base. However, the study found that the positive trends in the image of Russia in the German media are poorly proven, which means that the image of Russia in Germany by 2019 remains negative.