International issues in the reflection of the periodical press of the food industry of the USSR during the first and second five-year plans: analysis in MAXQDA software

The article analyzes materials from the mass newspapers "Babayevec" (State Confectionery Factory named after P.A. Babayev), "Za boyevye tempi" (State Confectionery Factory "Rot Front"), "Nasha pravda" (State Confectionery Factory "Krasny Oktyabr"), and the industry newspaper "Pishchevik" ("For the Food Industry," "Food Industry"). The aim of the article is to study the reflection of international issues in industry and mass newspapers of the food industry of the USSR during the first and second five-year plans. The study of the influence of these publications on the foreign policy perceptions of workers in the 1920s and 1930s is a relevant issue, as it allows for an expansion of knowledge about the means and methods of forming patriotic attitudes among Soviet citizens in the prelude to World War II. The article employs content analysis using the MAXQDA program. The author tests some new functions of this software for working with newspaper texts. The research has shown that international issues occupied a significant place in the industry and mass media of the food industry of the USSR during the first and second five-year plans. A common theme in the food industry newspapers was the reflection of pressing foreign policy challenges and tasks of the state. The examined publications responded promptly to changes in the international agenda, especially during periods of heightened political tension in the USSR and abroad. The specificity of the studied periodicals is traced in the dynamics of coverage of international events; however, the structure of the core semantic relationships regarding international issues was uniform across all examined newspapers. Under the unified control of censorship and party organs, the industry and mass newspapers of the food industry during the first and second five-year plans acted as effective tools for ideological influence, contributing to the formation of foreign policy perceptions and patriotic attitudes among workers – their target audience.

content analysis, MAXQDA, branch newspaper, factory newspaper, Soviet Periodicals, Soviet food industry, international relations, Soviet foreign policy, Soviet propaganda, Five-Year Plans