Modus and Modality in Russian Political Media Discourse: A Linguistic Aspect

This study examines modus and modality as key linguistic categories involved in the construction of meaning in Russian political media discourse, which functions as a vital instrument of institutional influence and regulation of public consciousness. The object of the research is contemporary Russian political media discourse, viewed as an institutionally and pragmatically organized system of public communication under conditions of digitalization and mediatisation. Particular attention is given to the linguistic means of expressing modality and modus across various speech formats, including official addresses, televised statements, digital media publications, and informal platforms. The author offers a detailed analysis of epistemic, deontic, and expressive modality, especially regarding their role in legitimizing authority, producing rhetorical impact, creating the effect of credibility, managing audience attention, and ideologically framing the message in the context of modern media communication. The methodological framework is based on a linguo-pragmatic and discourse-functional approach, incorporating methods of contextual analysis, pragmatic interpretation, and elements of content analysis of media texts. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the comprehensive linguistic interpretation of the functioning of modus and modality in Russian political media speech—an area previously underexplored in a systematic manner. The research identifies stable linguistic patterns through which modal structures perform manipulative, mobilizing, and persuasive functions in public communication. The main conclusion is that modus and modality operate as interconnected rhetorical mechanisms of institutional influence on mass consciousness. The author’s specific contribution includes the identification of typical markers and pragmatic patterns, as well as the distinction between official and unofficial segments of political media discourse. Future research may focus on cross-cultural comparisons of modal strategies and the impact of digitalization and artificial intelligence on political text modality.

political discourse, modality, modus, media discourse, linguistic pragmatics, speech influence, epistemic modality, deontic modality, evaluative lexis, pragmatic analysis