The Aspects of Constructing a Right-wing Discourse in Russia

In recent years, the examples of nationalist discourse have become increasingly common in the rhetoric of the Russian authorities. In addition, some formulations have made their way into legal acts. For example, the amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which were adopted in July 2020, and, among other things, included in the basic law of the country such explicitly gravitating towards right-wing discourse concepts as "the memory of the ancestors who passed down our ideals and faith in God", "protection of the institution of marriage as the union of a man and a woman", etc. In this context, it seems important to study the development of right-wing discourse in Russia, to identify its specificities and to determine its impact on the political sphere of the country, including on the actions of the authorities. This study aims to do that. In order to achieve this goal, a large volume of material has been studied, including texts, publications, materials in the media, the Internet and social media, as well as social practices that relate to right-wing discourse in Russia in the period from 1991 to 2020. Norman Fairclough's critical discourse analysis and the related three-part model are used as the main method for examining the empirical basis of the research. The result identifies two main directions of Russian right-wing discourse, captures their characteristics and features, and traces their development in the period from 1991 to 2020, which is divided into five temporal categories. Keywords: right-wing discourse in Russia, discourse analysis, discursive practices, social practices, liberalism, nationalism, new right.