Stanchik, S.S. The mass media as an instrument of infl uence on the “colored revolutions”.

Abstract: The “colored” upheavals on the post-Soviet territory were mostly successful due to the use of mass media by the revolutionary opposition in order to manipulate the society. The goal of this article is to show what methods are used by the mass media in order to form opinions and behavior of people. The so-called “non-violent” turnovers, which took place in the former USSR republics are much similar to the “velvet” revolutions of 1989. Press and televisions assisted the downfall of the Communism in some Eastern European states. Then the mass media on one hand actively gave appearance of active support of such turnovers by the Western states, and on the other hand they “demonized” the Socialist form of government. The organizers of the “colored” turnovers used the experience of their “velvet” colleagues. One of the main goals of the mass media was to form the virtual image of a large protest movement, which almost won. The mass media also used “the black PR” in order to stain the image of the government. Internet also played an important role in the “colored” revolutions. The opposition sites included information and news. So one can say that the mass media were key in the support of turnovers in Georgia, Ukraine and Kirgizia.

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