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Abstract:In 2017–21, the symbol of childhood became especially noticeable in the political life of Russia due to the participation of minors in protest activity and the involvement of the age factor in political rhetoric.Based on an analysis of political discourse, media publications, and interviews, the authors conclude that the slogan of saving children served as a weapon in both the legitimation of power and its delegitimation. The opposition criticized the Kremlin for its alleged cruelty towards underage protesters and represented the authorities as outdated. The authorities accused the liberal opposition of manipulating the minds of minors; jeopardizing their health and life; and also carrying out the work of the Western secret services that were trying to split Russian society by age. The Kremlin positions itself as a pillar of strength of not only the physical but also the spiritual health of children.The public opinion survey shows that for the informants the question of whether the authorities protected children or displayed cruelty towards them was important for their evaluation of the legitimacy of power.

Abstract:The study focuses on the way in which the satirical graphic art of the Russian Revolution of 1905 used the image of the bear to represent revolutionary events and both supporters and opponents of the autocracy. The author comes to the conclusion that this time period saw the emergence of the bear as a political symbol in Russia. The use of the bear as a political image became part of the symbolic struggle in which some political forces sought to delegitimize power, while others pursued the goal of discrediting the revolution. Left-wing journals used the image of the bear to designate both "us" and "them"; in some cases, the image served as an allegory of the oppressed and rebellious people, and in others it personified the autocracy and its supporters, particularly, the reactionaries of the Black Hundreds. Right-wing journals used the bear image as a symbol representing "us," and the bear was associated only with positive characteristics. Despite the differences mentioned, however, left- and right-wing journals also had something in common: the bear symbol was used to identify "Russianness," with both its positive and negative aspects. In the "political bestiary," therefore, the bear received the status of national animal symbol. At the same time, the semantics of the bear as a political symbol during this period were not yet fully established and it had not yet become an allegory personifying Russia.