Communicative practices of the presidents of the United States and the Russian Federation 2000–2008

Abstract

The public communication practices of U.S. and Russian presidents are built on the basis of legal norms, political culture and established national traditions. The key genres of public communications of presidents in both the U.S. and Russia are: messages to parliaments, inaugural and crisis speeches, press conferences, and interviews.

In the practice of the United States and Russia, the genres of messages and inaugural speeches practically coincide in this case. This is not coincidental, since the institution of the presidency in Russia is much younger and the key genres of public communications have been borrowed from Western practices. However, there are also certain specifics. In particular, the genre of crisis speeches is quite often used in the public communication practices of American presidents. In Russia, the practice of crisis speeches is used as a rhetorical tool of presidential communication much less frequently. The exceptions include presidential speeches about the most critical events; as a rule, they are broadcast on record.

The know-how of presidential communication in Russia is the format of multihour direct lines with the president, which are broadcast by federal TV channels. The genre of press conferences is used by Russian presidents much more frequently.

The rhetoric used by specific presidents adds to the peculiarity of their communication practices.