VOL. IV (XXI) 2009 - Departamentul de Filosofie si Stiinte ale ...

106 PUBLIC RELATIONS DISASTER AS A PARTICULAR SYMBOL OF POWER
SSGN Kursk K – 141 an Oscar II class nuclear powered submarine of the Russian Navy
Secondly, based upon the type of disclosure which we already mention
we will attempt to draw a short but systematic view about general mode of
reaction which Russian officials usually use in order to deal with media
requests when this type of crisis appears. Here we will not follow necessarily
the standard line of approach used by western specialists in Public Relations
or in Mass Communication in general but a deeper line of analysis which
emphasis some historical or even cultural aspects regarding Russia. We will
do so in order to get a better understanding of Russian high ranking
authorities’ reactions in times of serious crisis for the Army or for the people
in general. The reason because we will follow this approach is a very simple
one, al least at a first look. This can be resumed as it follows: the way in
which Russian highest authorities react in front of public when serious crisis
do appear is very strong linked, we think, with a very strong cultural and
historical background of the Russian people. This does not mean that in
order to understand how Public Relations or Mass Communication in general
function in today Russia is absolutely imperative to take into considerations
some cultural issues. This implies only the fact that for understanding how