SYMBOLS OF DISCORD: RUNIC WRITING IN THE MIRROR OF RUSSIAN AND WESTERN PRESS
A new curious cultural phenomenon, which, however, has not yet received its scientific understanding, emerged in Russia after the breakup of the Soviet Union. This phenomenon is the growing fashion for runic symbols, which can be seen on clothes, tattoos, logos, amulets, in movies and TV shows. A concept of “Slavic runes”, long ago rejected by science, has revived in Russian popular culture. A press contributes to the formation of such ideas. Based on the content analysis of press coverage of runic symbols, it is shown that the Russian press reports less reliable information about runes than the Western one. Russian journalists pay little attention to modern Nazi connotations of letters of the runic alphabet. Differences in the representation of information about runes in the Russian and Western press can lead to the emergence of new intercultural conflicts where there is none.