RUSSIAN-AMERICAN FRICTIONS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES FOR BUSINESS(BASED ON THE AMERICAN PRESS FROM 2002 TO 2012)
This article reports about the research conducted in 2014 on the consequences of various political conflicts between Russia and America for business. These conflicts were obviously supposed to have a serious impact on our economic relations; however, the reality differs from common expectations. Having analyzed the articles in the American mass media from 2002 to 2012, the author comes to the conclusion that different political frictions (like E. Snowden’s case, for example), according to the journalists, were sure to affect the trade climate between the two countries. However, official statistics showing economic indices (export/import) that would be the evidence of “economic punishment” reveal that the American press is often mistaken in making assumptions. In fact, annual growth of export/import level means that political differences do not influence the business sphere a lot in the USA and in Russia. After comparing the data of economic indices and journalists’ predictions, the paper concludes by proving that journalists were very often inclined to exaggerate the facts and raise a panic, while the economic benefits for both the countries seemed to be tangible, which prevented Russia and America from imposing any sanctions against each other.