Features of the image of the USSR in the US periodical press in 1939-1940

Introduction. The article examines the specifics of the image of the USSR as shaped in the US periodical press and conveyed to American audiences in the context of key events of 1939–1940. It analyzes the role attributed to the Soviet Union in the Anglo-French-Soviet negotiations, the conclusion of the GermanSoviet Non-Aggression Pact, the outbreak of World War II, the Russo-Finnish War, and the admitting of the Baltics and Bessarabia to the USSR, as well as the specifics of the constructed image of the Soviet state that flowed from this role. Materials and methods. The study is based on the analysis of American periodicals that reported on important events in international relations and the role of the Soviet Union in these processes. The study used a diachronic analysis method, taking into account the principles of contextuality and interdisciplinarity. Analysis. The analysis showed that news mentioning the USSR, regardless of any particular events, were aimed at forming negative perceptions of the Soviet state, often using the technique of personification and the pejorative nature of the presentation of information. Results. The study of the characteristics of the USSR image in the US periodical press during this period revealed the following characteristic features: the personification of the USSR in the person of I. Stalin. His figure acquired such negative connotations as “dictator,” “warmonger,” “tyrant fearful of his cronies,” and “occupier”; the equating of Stalin with Hitler; and an expressively negative assessment of the USSR activities. 

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