Features of “Hizb ut-Tahrir”6 Coverage of in the Ukrainian Media (2001-2021)
The study of the Islamist religious and political movement “Hizb ut-Tahrir” gained significant importance since it became highly active in the modern world, in particular, in the post-Soviet space. Although it is of interest to researchers, the attitude towards “Hizb ut-Tahrir” in the society and political elites in Ukraine has not become an object of research until now. The authors conducted a comprehensive analysis of the positioning of the movement in the Ukrainian media, taking into account the context of Russian-Ukrainian relations and the “Crimean” issue that became the main topic in the coverage of “Hizb ut-Tahrir” by the Ukrainian press after 2014. Applying the content analysis method as a basis for the study, the authors analysed the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of “Hizb ut-Tahrir” coverage in the Ukrainian media. The present paper focuses on the publications of the most popular state, private and foreign electronic media operating in Ukraine over the past 20 years. The authors found a significant increase in the number of publications on “Hizb ut-Tahrir” since 2014, as well as a radical change in the discourse of the Ukranian media, consisting in the ethnisation and politicisation of the issue. The authors attribute the reasons for these changes to fact that the “Hizb ut-Tahrir” issue has become an effective tool of pressure on Russia from the political elites of Ukraine and the West.