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AbstractThe article dwells upon the use of the symbol of the "Motherland" in the legitimation and delegitimation of power. The Motherland symbolizes the matters that are essential for legitimacy-seeking: the unity of Russia, its territory and sacredness of its borders, the most important events of its history, the "authentic Russianness," and multi-ethnic peace in the country. The author argues that the Motherland serves as an important factor of the legitimation of power in contemporary Russia, which allows the authorities to have high popularity both in domestic and foreign policies. This symbol is also actively exploited by the opposition; one mode of the delegitimation of power through using the symbol of Motherland (the "populist" mode) implies the symbolic struggle for possessing this symbol, or for the right to speak on behalf of the Motherland, while another one (the "liberal" mode) implies the desacralization of the "Motherland" and deconstruction of the practices of employing the symbol by the authorities.

Analyzing Soviet films and film criticism from the late Stalin period, this article shows how Soviet cinematographers exploited gender discourse to produce Otherness. Cinematic representations of U.S. femininity, masculinity, love, sexuality, and marriage played an important role in constructing external and internal Enemies. Cinematography depicted the U.S. gender order as resulting from the unnatural social system in the United States and as contrary to both the Soviet order and human nature. In line with the notion of "two different Americas," the films also created images of "good Americans" who aspired to satisfy gender norms of the Soviet way of life. The image of the American Other helped shape Soviet gender and political orders. Internal enemies' "groveling before the West" on political matters was depicted as causing gender deviancy, and the breaking of Soviet gender norms was shown to lead to political crimes.

Introduction. The article focuses on the changes that happened in the portrayal of U.S. characters in Soviet Thaw cinema. The contribution of the article in the field of cultural Cold War is threefold: for the first time, it studies the American characters' images through the prism of the concept of rehumanization; establishes common and particular traits of deconstruction of the image of the enemy in Soviet and American cinema; and introduces new materials into scientific circulation. The materials consist of the movies on which Soviet cinematography worked in the early 1960s; reviews in film magazines; and archival data of discussions on movies and their scenarios that took place in film studios. Analysis. Specifics of the dehumanization of 'enemy number one' in Soviet cinema. The Soviet anti-Americanism was based on the idea of 'two Americas': dehumanization has been subjected only to class and politically alien Americans. Deconstructing the image of the enemy in Thaw cinema. Humanizing U.S. characters was achieved with the help of endowing them with kindness, empathy, creativity, emotionality, moral behavior, ability for love, friendship, and comradeship, emphasizing the similarity of the basic values of 'us' and 'them', and demonstrating the possibility of peaceful coexistence through cases of mutual aid, cooperation, and the occurrence of friendly and romantic relations. The humanness of U.S. characters becomes less dependent on political factors. The cinema expressed the idea that man by nature was good, and this original human goodness was noticeable most of all in children, including American ones. The limits of rehumanization. The conservative part of the Soviet elite accused 'abstract humanism' of forgetting the class principle and juxtaposed it to 'revolutionary humanism'. Criticism of 'abstract humanism' in ideology was accompanied by a tightening of demands for representing America that representatives of the Soviet controlling bodies made. Results. In the 1960s, Soviet cinema (just like U.S. cinema) had the tendency of deconstructing the image of 'enemy number one', which took the form of rehumanization. The rehumanization had its limitations.

The article deals with the Russian media coverage of sexual assaults against women during the 2016 New Year's Eve celebrations in Cologne. The authors examine it in the frame of discourse of "Gayropa" that represents the EU via changes in gender order of the West European societies. The pro-Kremlin media coverage of the "Rape of Europe" contributes to positioning Russia in the world, maintaining power legitimacy in the country, and supporting gender order in Russian society. The media discourse treats it as an evidence of decline of the European civilization.

Gender discourse plays an important role in contemporary Russians' attitudes toward Europe. On one hand, it negatively influences the image of Europe, while on the other it reflects many significant aspects of Russians' comprehension of Us versus Them. Due to the role which gender images, symbols, and metaphors play in constructing social boundaries and hierarchies, they are widely used in the representations of Russian-European relations. Influential politicians and experts speak out on the issue, and leading publications are publishing articles provoking a huge response among commentators on the Internet. ; Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu "Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia". Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00.

One factor contributing to the Putin regime's popularity is its remasculinization of Russia by creating attractive images of national masculinity and attributing masculine characteristics to the country, while the opposition seeks to counteract this activity. Adapted from the source document.