ABSTRACT
During the first Chechen war, to take one example, the Russian media showed the charred remains of Russian troops and naked Russian soldiers covered with battle wounds and on the point of death. Although aware of Western standards regarding the portrayal of violence and the graphic depiction of death, Russian media bosses believe that it is "absurd" to impose moral limits upon themselves. More than once Russian psychiatrists, worried by the increase of mental disorders, have warned of the dangers of television (TV) programs that "intensify feelings of fear, and aggression." The mass media have become instruments of a struggle between different industrial groups and political clans: TV newscasts and newspapers often target not the general public, but rather the audience at the top of the political hierarchy. Of all the forms of mass media, TV remains the key factor in Russia's changing politics. As in the West, the flagship of every national TV station is still its news program.
