Le journalisme militaire en Russie : les tiraillements d’un journalisme d’institution

During the Soviet time, military journalism was part of the army command. After the fall of the USSR, part of the profession gained autonomy as corps specialized in military affairs fed by the various scandals concerning the army (such as dedovshchina, recurring problems regarding the payment of the soldiers). From the years 2000, this polarization of military journalism has increased. On the one hand, the young generations are more porous to the army’s activities of communication and public relations to which they contribute. They are less concerned with providing accurate information. The creation by the Russian Ministry of Defense of its own TV channel Zvezda (The Star) is a striking illustration of this kind of institutional journalism. On the other hand, some journalists develop an investigative journalism and are concerned with revealing financial and political affairs that affect the army. Military journalism is thus increasingly torn between two distinct spheres, which have two different conceptions of the profession.