Infotainment on Russian TV as a tool of desacralization of Soviet myths and creation of a myth about the future

Abstract

This paper deals with the process of incorporation of “infotainment” in the Russian television industry. Professional journalism is analyzed as a tool for the interpretation of facts, which have contributed to erode the myths of mass consciousness, which were formed by Soviet propaganda. According to the author, television news and other infotainment programs have affected socio-cultural processes in Russia; in particular, they have contributed to shaping the worldview of post-Soviet intellectuals, known as the “new intelligentsia”.