Résumés
Abstract
This paper examines Russian and English reportage published online over the course of Wednesday, 1 September, the first day of the three-day hostage-crisis that took place in Beslan, Southern Russia in 2004. The material selected for analysis comes from three disparate news agencies: RIA-Novosti, a major, state-controlled Russian news agency; Kavkazcenter, the website of the Chechen armed resistance; and Caucasian Knot, a site founded by Memorial, Russia’s international and historical human rights society. Drawing on tenets of socio-narrative theory that combine narratological tools with the idea of ‘ontological narrativity’ (Somers and Gibson 1994: 38), the paper analyses the construction of the news narratives published by each website, before turning to a comparative analysis of the translated material also published that day. The paper thus contributes to academic knowledge regarding the Beslan hostage-taking and the discourses generated by the event – particularly those produced by fringe groups and in translation – as well as to knowledge of narrative construction as events are still occurring. Preliminary conclusions are drawn regarding the effect of translation on these competing narratives, particularly those circulated by opposition, non-mainstream groups concerning situations of violent political conflict, such as that which still continues in Chechnya and the North Caucasus.
Keywords:
- Beslan,
- Chechnya,
- Russia,
- narrative theory,
- terrorism,
- online media
Résumé
Le présent article analyse le reportage en russe et en anglais sur la prise d’otages qui frappa Beslan en Russie du Sud entre le 1er et le 3 septembre 2004, et se penche tout particulièrement sur les informations publiées en ligne au cours de la première journée de cette crise. Le corpus sélectionné et analysé provient de trois agences de presse distinctes : RIA-Novosti, une importante agence de presse russe contrôlée par l’État ; Kavkazcenter, le site web de la résistance armée tchétchène ; et Caucasian Knot, un site fondé par Memorial, l’organisation internationale et historique des droits de l’homme de Russie. L’étude a recours aux principes de la théorie narrative et allie les outils narratologiques d’analyse à la notion d’‘ontological narrativity’ (Somers et Gibson 1994 : 38) et explore la construction des récits d’information publiés par chaque site web, avant de passer à une analyse comparée de leur traduction, publiée le jour même. Ce travail contribue donc au savoir académique sur la prise d’otages de Beslan et les discours générés par l’événement – en particulier ceux qui sont produits par des groupes marginaux et par le biais de la traduction – ainsi qu’au savoir sur le processus de construction narrative, alors même que les événements sont en train de se produire. L’article tire des premières conclusions quant à l’effet de la traduction sur ces récits rivaux, particulièrement ceux qui sont diffusés par des groupes contestataires et non dominants relativement au conflit politique violent, comme celui qui perdure en Tchétchénie et dans le Caucase du Nord.
Mots-clés :
- Beslan,
- Tchétchénie,
- Russie,
- théorie narrative,
- terrorisme,
- médias en ligne
Parties annexes
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