A war of words. The representation of the war in Ukraine in the sports media of Latvia

Anastasija Ropa

doi:10.6093/2611-6693/10605

Anastasija Ropa Latvian Academy of Sport Education

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6093/2611-6693/10605

Abstract

Latvia is an ex-Soviet country with Latvian and ethnically Russian population and a history of uneasy relationship with Russia, including the love and hate relationship with Russian sports. Many athletes and trainers working in Latvia have competed and were trained in Russia, using Russian facilities, or, for the older generation, the Soviet Union. However, Russia and Russian-speaking Latvian residents, including the citizens of Latvia, have been long viewed with suspicion and have been the subject of discrimination at times of crisis. This paper examines the representation of the war in Ukraine in the sporting media of Latvia from February to early October 2022. The material is sourced from the main news portal of Latvia, Delfi, which has a Latvian-language and a Russian-language versions. It is found that the two versions have significant differences in the way they refer to the war in sport-related news items.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Anastasija Ropa, Latvian Academy of Sport Education

Anastasija Ropa, PhD, is lead researcher at the Latvian Academy of Sport Education, Department of Sport Management and Communication Science, teaching English for special purposes and professional sport communication. Her research interests encompass sports history, linguistics and gender in sport, areas in which she has published studies in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences.