Linguistic Analysis of the Concept of CORRUPTION in the Russian Political Discourse

Guan' Tsi ORCID: 0000-0002-3759-8881 Postgraduate student, Department of Russian Language and Methods of its Teaching, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya, 6 gguanqi@163.com Other publications by this author

Relevance of the research topic: the concept of CORRUPTION has deep roots. At the same time, it can transform over time under the influence of social processes. Actualization of the semantic layer of the concept is important at every stage of historical development. The mass media respond most quickly to changes in the social and political system, they also form a new reality of concepts in the minds of a wide audience. Therefore, mass media texts should periodically become the subject of scientific linguistic research. It is in them that transformations become apparent both in semantic and linguistic terms. Linguistic analysis of individual concepts is able to recreate a holistic picture of the world existing in society. This becomes especially important at a time of major historical events, as it is happening today at a time of aggravation of international relations. The article fixes the actual content of the concept of CORRUPTION on the example of existing media tests and can be used both for historical and linguistic research in a number of theoretical sources, and during the educational process to demonstrate the conceptual and linguistic features of the concept.

Achieving the goal is possible by solving a number of research tasks, including the formation of the conceptual apparatus of research, systematization of disparate theoretical sources and semantic analysis of the linguistic field of the concept of CORRUPTION in media texts.

The methodology uses specific methods of linguistic analysis, including conceptual analysis, semantic analysis and content analysis. The combination of methods made it possible to systematize the achievements of predecessors and describe empirical data.

The theoretical basis is based on the works devoted to general linguistic issues and narrow problems related to the implementation of the concept of CORRUPTION by such researchers as V.I. Karasik, N.D. Arutyunova, O.V. Barabash, M.P. Gurov and A.I. Primakin, Yu.E. Prokhorov. The research material consists of five relevant journalistic materials published in the reputable economic journal "RBC" and containing the word "corruption" in the tags:

– Arestovich urged Ukraine to find a president capable of defeating corruption (07.04 / RBC – URL: https://www.rbc.ru/politics/07/04/2023/64304fac9a794759eaf56892 );

– The Prosecutor General's Office revealed the number of officials dismissed for loss of trust (06.04 / RBC – URL: https://www.rbc.ru/economics/06/04/2023/642e97a79a79473c5e28e449 );

– Zelensky declared transparency "to every cent" in the supply of weapons to the United States (13.04 / RBC – URL: https://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/6437207e9a7947309a88692a );

– China has strengthened anti-corruption checks after the re-election of Xi Jinping (10.04 / RBC – https://www.rbc.ru/politics/10/04/2023/64339c6f9a79470f08cd84a2 );

– The ex-head of the National Bank of Ukraine warned about the risk of new oligarchs. (13.04 / RBC – URL: https://www.rbc.ru/politics/06/04/2023/642e75bc9a79472a081e892f ).

The theoretical base also includes the explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by S.I. Ozhegov.

The practical significance is determined by the possibility of using the presented developments in further case studies. Given the importance of the phenomenon of corruption and the attention of the audience to this problem, the scientific understanding of its discursive and conceptual implementation becomes an urgent task of modern scientists. The results of the work can be used in the course of teaching linguistic disciplines in the Russian-speaking audience at language faculties, as well as as an additional source of information for foreign senior students studying in linguistic areas.

The term "corruption" functions within several social institutions and is actively discussed by the public. In this regard, there is a need to consider the peculiarities of the interpretation of the concept in question from the point of view of law, mass media, economics, science and other spheres of life.

So, in the dictionary of S.I. Ozhegov, the following interpretation is given: "CORRUPTION, -and, g. Bribery, corruption of officials, political figures" ^{[8, p. 255]}.

Speaking about the importance of regular assessment of the level of corruption, I.A. Korolev asserts that "corruption is abuse of official position, giving a bribe, receiving a bribe, abuse of authority, commercial bribery or other illegal use by an individual of his official position contrary to the legitimate interests of society and the state in order to obtain benefits in the form of money, valuables, other property or property-related services, other property rights for oneself or for third parties, or the illegal provision of such benefits to the specified person by other individuals, as well as the commission of these acts on behalf of or in the interests of a legal entity" ^{[7, p. 150]}.

There is also an official definition adopted by law and appearing in official documents. Federal Law No. 273-FZ of December 25, 2008 "On Combating Corruption" states that corruption is "a) abuse of official position, giving a bribe, receiving a bribe, abuse of authority, commercial bribery or other illegal use by an individual of his official position contrary to the legitimate interests of society and the state in order to obtain benefits in the form of money valuables, other property or services of a proprietary nature, other property rights for oneself or for third parties, or the illegal provision of such benefits to the specified person by other individuals; b) the commission of acts specified in subparagraph "a" of this paragraph on behalf of or in the interests of a legal entity" (Federal Law No. 273 of December 25, 2008 "On combating corruption" (editorial dated 06.02.2023). URL: https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_82959/bbbd4641125b222beaf7483e16c594116ed2d9a1/).

The existence of corrupt structures in society leads to serious economic problems. "Corruption is a dangerous social phenomenon, since it affects all spheres of public, political and economic activity. In addition, this phenomenon affects not only domestic spheres, but also directly concerns international relations and relations" ^{[10, p. 132]}.

At the international level, there is a definition formulated in the UN Reference Document on the International Fight against Corruption — "this is an abuse of state power for personal gain" (A reference document on the international fight against Corruption prepared by the UN Secretariat / The Ninth UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders. Cairo, 1995. – pp. 78-83). At the same time, there are certain recommendations on combating corruption in the international arena, where cooperation becomes important, "the process of interaction of states represented by duly authorized state bodies and organizations, international governmental and non-governmental associations, interstate and transnational organizations. It is implemented within the framework of five priorities: prevention and elimination of the causes of corruption; criminalization of corrupt practices; asset recovery; control; international cooperation" ^{[9, p. 8]}.

A term widely used in society, existing within the boundaries of certain rules and containing a figurative and emotional grain, can be considered a concept. I.S. Shulyatikov, having studied a large array of linguistic works on this topic, asserts that "a concept is a mental formation that replaces an indefinite set of objects of the same kind in the process of thought, a unit that is not subject to change in the semantics of a verbal sign, directing the thought of speakers of a given language, while determining their choice and creating the potential of language-speech, as well as being the basic unit of a person's mental code" ^{[12, p. 100]}.

The content of the concept of CORRUPTION includes both the process of transferring material remuneration to officials, as well as the demand and acceptance of this remuneration by the interested party, as well as the negative connotation of such activities. Consequently, the lexical core of the concept includes both a holistic understanding of the situation and its individual components. "The multilayered structure and content of the concept of CORRUPTION is due to the centuries-old history of native speakers' understanding of the phenomenon of corruption in legal, political and everyday communication, the history of semantic transformations of the nominations verbalizing it in the Russian language" ^{[3, p. 229]}.

Modern researchers M.P. Gurov and A.I. Primakin studied a large cross-section of theoretical sources and formed a formula for the existence of corruption from the point of view of socio-economic relations of people. It looks like this: "Corruption = monopoly + arbitrariness — responsibility" ^{[4, p. 111]}. The following conclusion is also interesting: "The following forms of manifestation are distinguished in political corruption: political patronage and clientelism – guardianship by politicians of elected subordinate structures, creation of the most favorable conditions for them in exchange for personal loyalty and political support; vote buying – carried out during election campaigns, applied to fixed groups of voters (gifts and other material benefits); public feeder — money allocated from the budget to local authorities for public needs in order to win the sympathy of voters, etc." ^{[4, p. 113]}. The phenomenon of corruption, according to these authors, is a dangerous phenomenon that can lead to a crisis in the country.

It is this feature that forms the basis of public attention to this problem and active discussion of it in various layers of society. Since the problem attracts a fairly wide audience, it is brought up for discussion on the pages of the mass media. Considering the influence of mass media on mass consciousness, and sometimes its formation, it should be considered precisely on the material of mass media. Then the conceptual analysis will be the most complete and valuable from a scientific point of view.

It is necessary to refer to the definition of discourse to specify the task of research. There is no single definition of this phenomenon in the modern scientific point of view. N.D. Arutyunova, a recognized expert in this topic, suggests that "discourse is a coherent text in combination with extralinguistic – pragmatic, socio–cultural, psychological and other factors" ^{[2, p. 136]}. The researcher also suggests considering as a discourse a text taken in the event aspect or speech considered as a purposeful social action, as a component involved in the interaction of people and the mechanisms of their consciousness. Summing up, she argues that "discourse" is speech "immersed in life"" ^{[2, p. 137]}.

Yu.E. Prokhorov notes that discourse is "between the following boundaries: firstly, discourse is text (part of text, type of text, state of text, etc.) - text is discourse (part of discourse, type of discourse, state of discourse); secondly, discourse is a work – discourse is use, activity" ^{[11, pp. 27-28]}. Thus, the researcher emphasizes the dual nature of discourse, which dictates a certain way of constructing a text and at the same time includes a separate text in the general system of discussion.

From this point of view, the definition given by V.I. Karasik will be relevant, who claims that "discourse is a text immersed in a communication situation" ^{[5, p. 147]}. To structure a rather broad concept of discourse, the researcher forms a system within which individual texts can be described. Thus, the discourse can be implemented at the personal, everyday and institutional levels. Within the framework of the problem under consideration, it is relevant to consider the second variant of the manifestation of discourse, since it "is a specialized cliched kind of communication between people who may not know each other, but must communicate in accordance with the norms of this society" ^{[6, p. 7]}.

In relation to the ongoing research, the discourse will be considered as a set of texts implemented in the media and somehow touching on the topic of corruption. The portal was chosen as an empirical material www.rbc.ru and a set of materials containing the term we are interested in in tags (keywords). The selection was carried out based on the content of the concept.

It should be noted that the vast majority of materials related to corruption are placed under the heading "Politics", although they are also found in the sections "Economy", "Society" and a number of others.

In the material "Zelensky declared transparency "to every cent" in the supply of weapons to the United States," the conceptual core of the term "corruption" also includes such expressions as "fully transparent", "clean financial relations", "full vision in relation to every cent", "trust", "partners", "procurement", "saving untold millions of American dollars", "dollars intended to pay for diesel fuel", "took more money", "corrupt generals", "leaders left their posts", "accuse of corruption", "there will be no corruption", "we are united", "corrupt officials left with their with money." That is, on the one hand, an opposition is formed between "clean", that is, unrelated to corruption, and "dirty", carrying out corrupt activities, and on the other hand, the speaker's attitude to the phenomenon of corruption is traced, he considers himself to be "clean side" intentionally and openly. The expression of the speakers is emphasized by the phrases "every cent", "countless millions". The text indicates the involvement in corruption of those persons who are identified as alien: "generals", "left", "we are united" (that is, we do not accept those who stand out).

The material "China has strengthened anti-corruption checks after Xi Jinping's re-election" contains the following expressions in the lexical and semantic core: "regulator", "anti-corruption check", "investigation", "punishment", "high-profile case", "commission", "serious violations", "is in custody", "accused of receiving bribes", "accuse of corruption", "regulation of financial activities", "warn". It should be noted that the concept of "control" has become the most important message here, there are no oppositions, and there is a clear role of the state as a regulator of financial activity.

The following semantic fields were found in the material entitled "Arestovich called on Ukraine to find a president capable of defeating corruption": "I did not completely overcome corruption", "theft of humanitarian aid", "a person who will not steal", "extraordinary measures to combat corruption", "stolen", "stolen goods", "embezzlement schemes", "unscrupulous suppliers", "seized", "resale", "budget money", "withdraw funds into the shadows", "suffer damage", "initiation of proceedings", "official forgery", "fictitious contract", "illegally transferred", "hide from management", "opposition to corruption". We note more stringent formulations in relation to the phenomenon under discussion, the appearance of vocabulary from the sphere of law. At the same time, the term "theft" is put on a par with the concept of "corruption", although this is a different logical series and a different crime fixed in the laws.

The material "The Prosecutor General's Office revealed the number of officials dismissed for loss of trust" contains the following core: "loss of trust of officials", "corruption violations", "corruption caused damage", "recover to the budget", "corruption crime", "development of anti-corruption legislation", "economic development", "anti-corruption duties", "disciplinary responsibility", "measures to resolve conflicts of interest", "crimes in the field of corruption", "criminal community", "corruption schemes", "compensation for damage from corruption", "unconfirmed income", "corruption-related claims", "level of corruption", "strengthen the fight against corruption". Such a series emphasizes the attention of society and the state to the problem, describes a number of decisions taken to combat the phenomenon of corruption and allows the reader to reduce concern.

In the article "The ex-head of the National Bank of Ukraine warned about the risk of new oligarchs", the lexical core includes such expressions as "new oligarchs", "financial assistance", "risk for reforms", "external financing", "donor countries", "feed", "credit", "stability", "pouring money into a black hole". Interestingly, there is no direct indication of this, but a logical series is being created, according to which an oligarchy is formed only under the condition of bribery, and vice versa: corruption generates an oligarchy.

The presented texts were created during a rather difficult historical period for the whole world, which is characterized by the aggravation of the conflict between some countries participating in international economic cooperation, the escalation of the conflict by some participants in the events, economic sanctions pressure, and the conduct of a special military operation. In this context, the relationship between countries comes to the fore, some of which provide financial assistance, while others become recipients of it. The examples discussed both the internal regulation of corruption (China, Ukraine, Russia) and the international level of corruption relations (USA – Ukraine). The described lexical fields allow us to conclude that the concept of CORRUPTION today includes international relations, it has a negative connotation, is presented on the pages of the media as a phenomenon with a bright negative connotation. That is, today corruption is not just a problem, but a crime, theft, embezzlement. At the same time, it is emphasized that measures are being taken to combat corruption and corrupt individuals. L.I. Alexandrova also speaks about the international aspect of corruption: "The new quality of corruption, manifested in the conditions of globalization, in particular, in its transnational forms, is a serious problem of internationalization, being one of the challenges to world development" ^{[1, p. 13]}.

To sum up: in the conditions of difficult international relations, much attention is paid to corruption, the fight against it is conducted at different levels and make it one of the most important state tasks. The transformation of the concept of CORRUPTION is due to the expansion of the field of discussion of this phenomenon, including at the global level.

As part of the study, five relevant materials published on the Internet page of the popular economic magazine "RBC" were studied. In the considered texts, various semantic fields are formed in relation to corruption. Despite the coincidence of a number of expressions, the general message of the text and the implementation of the discursive approach in it, as a rule, differ. For example, in one of the materials, the main thing was the opposition of "friend/ foe", in another – the controlling role of the state, in the third – the formation of a new oligarchy, and so on. At the same time, the phenomenon itself is assessed as negative in all texts, even by those persons who may be associated with corrupt relations.

As a result of the conducted research , a number of conclusions can be drawn:

1. The term "corruption" appears in various sectors of society, while there is a definition clearly fixed in state documents, covering the widest possible manifestations.

2. Corruption as a phenomenon is actively discussed by society, including through the media. This gives the right to define a plurality of texts of related topics as an institutional discourse existing within the framework of journalistic discourse and limited by the topic.

3. Most often, materials marked with the tag "corruption" are placed in the category "Politics", although it would be logical to assume that this is an economic topic and should be placed in the appropriate category. It seems that this feature is due to the fact that the topic of the text is more often an analysis of the impact of corruption on society, rather than a description of possible action schemes or economic consequences.

4. Each text with the help of certain expressions creates a lexical and conceptual core, using neutral and expressive words. They may partially coincide in different texts, but the subtext and general meaning will be different.

The prospects for further research of the problem lie in the possibility of fixing discursive texts and analyzing them from various points of view. The importance of the problem and the attention from society suggests the broad research capabilities of linguists.