Hortus Semioticus 13 / 2026 — 1

Abstract: This paper presents a comparative analysis of the image of Russia in France before and after the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February , 2022, using as a corpus of study the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. To do so, this analysis will be framed within two key interdisciplinary fields: imagology and semiotics. Through the lens of imagology, this study will identify if the representation of Russia has changed or not during the selected time frames and to what extent this magazine has created new stereotypes about Russia. Meanwhile, semiotics will serve to explore the linguistic tools used by Charlie Hebdo to construct these images, revealing how specific signs, presented as symbols and metaphors contribute to the ideological narrative surrounding Russia. By integrating these two fields, the study not only uncovers the evolving representations of Russia but also provides insight into how media discourse actively shapes public perception through both cultural imagery and the manipulation of signs.

Keywords: Charlie Hebdo, imagology, semiotics, connotation, Barthes, signifier, signified

Venemaa kuvand ajakirjas Charlie Hebdo: semiootiline ja imagoloogiline analüüs

Abstrakt. Käesolevas artiklis esitatakse võrdlev analüüs Venemaa kuvandist Prantsusmaal enne ja pärast Ukraina täiemahulise sissetungi algust 24. veebruaril 2022. a., kasutades uurimiskorpusena Prantsuse satiiriajakirja Charlie Hebdo. Analüüs raamistatakse kahe olulise interdistsiplinaarse valdkonna, imagoloogia ja semiootikaga. Imagoloogia kaudu selgitatakse käesolevas uuringus välja, kas Venemaa kujutamine on valitud ajavahemiku jooksul muutunud või mitte ja mil määral on see ajakiri loonud uusi stereotüüpe Venemaa kohta. Samal ajal uuritakse semiootika abil keelelisi vahendeid, mida Charlie Hebdo kasutas piltide konstrueerimiseks, paljastades, kuidas konkreetsed märgid, sümbolid ja metafoorid aitavad kaasa Venemaad ümbritsevale ideoloogilisele narratiivile. Nende kahe valdkonna integreerimisega ei paljastata uuringus mitte ainult kujunevaid representatsioone Venemaast, vaid antakse ka ülevaade sellest, kuidas meediadiskursus kujundab aktiivselt avalikkuse taju nii kultuuriliste kujutiste kui ka märkidega manipuleerimise kaudu.

Märksõnad: Charlie Hebdo, imagoloogia, semiootika, konnotatsioon, Barthes, tähistaja, tähistatav

1. Introduction

This research paper aims to analyse the connotations embedded in the headlines of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo before and after Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Therefore, this paper’s objective is to examine how the representation – or image – of Russia has evolved in the context of this major geopolitical event and, to achieve this, two complementary theoretical frameworks will be combined: semiotics as the methodological tool for the analysis of the headlines (Bouzida 2014; Arafah et al. 2023; Fowler 1991; Rubing, Sandaran 2023), and imagology as the conceptual lens through which the results will be interpreted and discussed. As a discipline, imagology is considered within the larger framework of translation studies and remains relatively unfamiliar outside of certain literary and cultural studies contexts (Ismatullayevna 2025: 121; Moiseenko 2020). In the confines of imagology, the word image does not refer to visual representations, but to mental images or perceptions of national identity – concepts that are central to imagology (Beller 2007: 4). In addition, imagology is concerned with the cultural and literary construction of national characters, defined as “mental images of the other”, which are often shaped by “characteristics attributed to entire peoples, nations, or ethnic groups”, and they circulate through various cultural texts, including media discourse (ibid, 4).

Following Beller’s approach, we are led to a fundamental question: to what extent are these mental images accurate, and how do they relate to the construction and perpetuation of stereotypes? This question is particularly urgent in today’s media environment, where information spreads rapidly – often without prior verification – and remains accessible to audiences who may lack the tools to interpret it critically (Ismatullayevna 2025: 123). To investigate this, the paper employs a critical discourse analysis of Charlie Hebdo’s headlines, treating them as symbolic texts imbued with ideological meaning. Drawing on Roland Barthes’ concepts of denotation, connotation, and the function of signs and codes, this analysis explores how public narratives about Russia are constructed and shaped. In Barthes’ framework, denotation – also referred to as first-order signification or signifier – concerns the literal, surface-level meaning of a sign, such as the explicit wording of a headline. On the other hand, connotation, also known as second-order signification or signified, goes beyond the denotation to encompass the cultural, emotional, and ideological associations that the signifier carries for its audience. Together, these layers of meaning reveal how seemingly neutral representations can serve to reinforce broader narratives and power structures (Barthes 1957; 1965; 1977).

The originality of this research lies in the intersection of semiotics and imagology, offering a layered analytical framework for reading how Charlie Hebdo’s headlines construct Russia. Semiotics enables a close, nuanced examination of the connotative processes at work in headlines, revealing how seemingly “neutral” signifiers produce chains of meaning entwined with larger cultural and ideological discourses (Barthes 1986: 147). Imagology supplements this insight by treating national and cultural images as “dynamic constructions” shaped by selection, translation, adaptation, and omission (Edtstadler, Folie, Zocco 2022). As van Doorslaer, Flynn, and Leerssen put it, the transfer and representation of national images “may lead to conscious and/or unconscious changes of perspective, the use of stereotypes, omissions or additions, and manipulations” (Flynn, Leerssen, van Doorslaer 2015). Thus, every headline is a site where representation is selective, shaped by ideological motivations and the pressures of geopolitics (Borchmann 2024).

This imagological approach is particularly valuable because it treats national and cultural images represented in textual discourse as dynamic constructions rather than fixed realities (van Doorslaer 2021; 2022) allowing us to examine how media discourse actively participates in the creation and circulation of national stereotypes. Ultimately, this dual approach opens the door for a more nuanced understanding of how media discourse not only reflects but actively shapes collective perceptions of other nations in times of political conflict, revealing the mechanisms through which national images are constructed, transferred, and transformed across cultural boundaries. Depending on the outcome, this analysis may serve as a foundation for a broader project examining how media (and not only satirical like in the case of Charlie Hebdo) function as a site of imagological production and circulation.

At the same time, this paper enters into dialogue with several sub-disciplines and theoretical frameworks. By integrating semiotics, it engages with cultural studies, media studies, and discourse analysis concerned with meaning-making and ideology. Through imagology, it converses with literary studies, comparative cultural analysis, and identity theory, particularly in the context of national stereotypes. While these sub-disciplines each provide distinct lenses through which this material could be studied, the present article does not attempt to engage with each in full disciplinary depth. Rather, it positions itself at a broader, more integrative level, drawing on these perspectives selectively to illuminate their intersections, while leaving space for future research to develop more specialised disciplinary inquiries.

2. Case study

The analysis of media representation of Russia has been extensively studied through various theoretical frameworks, with critical discourse analysis (CDA) and transitivity analysis emerging as particularly effective methodological approaches (Noh 2023). Van Dijk (2008: 84) points out that “one of the central tasks of CDA is to account for the relationships between discourse and social power”, and, at the same time, it rests on the notion that language use is purposeful, regardless of whether discursive choices are conscious or unconscious (Mullet 2018). On the other hand, several scholars have employed Halliday’s systemic functional linguistics framework to examine how media constructs national identities and power relations. One example of this is the author Zakizadeh (2024), who demonstrates how different newspapers, such as the New York Post and The Guardian, use varying transitivity patterns when depicting the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Building on this tradition of media discourse analysis, the present study turns to Charlie Hebdo, a French left-wing satirical weekly newspaper, re-established in 1992 as the successor to Hara-Kiri, a provocative magazine banned in 1970 for mocking the death of General de Gaulle. Ever since then, this magazine has developed a distinctive style, relying on verbal-visual satire, caricature, and black humour to critique political ideologies and figures (Delporte 2020). However, the magazine became globally known after it suffered a terrorist attack in 2015, in which 12 people were killed in retaliation for Charlie Hebdo’s publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Despite the tragedy, Charlie Hebdo has persisted in its mission to interrogate political authority employing exaggeration, absurdity, and iconoclasm. The nature of this magazine became key for choosing it as the main corpus of this research because, as Umberto Eco notes, “semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign” (1979: 7) and, in Charlie Hebdo, both the caricatures and the headlines function as signs that mediate complex narratives. However, for reasons of personal interest and limited time, this study will focus exclusively on the study of the textual structures and, specifically, on the headlines. Nevertheless, both the study of caricatures and the enlargement of the corpus to the full texts of the articles are considered as possible future studies. 

When it comes to the compilation of the corpus, this study will only consider as relevant those headlines containing the terms¹ Russie (Russia) and Russe (Russian)², published during two different periods of time: one year before the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine (24 February, 2021 – 23 February, 2022) and one year after the onset of the war (24 February, 2022 – 23 February, 2023). In order to define these time frames, it was first considered important to establish a reference base – a period before the invasion that would provide an image of pre-war Russia in Charlie Hebdo. On the other hand, choosing a one-year time frame during the invasion allowed the study to do the opposite: study a wartime Russian image. These two periods give the possibility of conducting a comparative analysis, which facilitates the identification of continuities, breaks, and transformations in Russia’s representation within the newspaper. Additionally, selecting one-year time frames was found to be a practical choice, as it yielded a manageable number of headlines for analysis within the time constraints of this research. Lastly, choosing the headlines as the corpus of study relies on the fact that headlines carry a higher degree of connotative weight, since their primary function is to capture the reader’s attention (van Dijk 1988: 35).

The search was conducted using the search engine on the official Charlie Hebdo website, taking into account the time and linguistic constraints mentioned above. Once the results were obtained, the articles were collected and organised digitally, including not only their headlines, but also other variables that, even though they will not be tackled in this analysis, were considered relevant for possible future analysis. Among these variables are: the authors to observe any editorial trends; the newspaper’s section in which the headlines were included (International, Economy, Society, Culture, Cinema, etc.) to assess the context in which Russia is represented; and the existence or not of a caricature accompanying the text to broaden the possibility of carrying not only a linguistic analysis but image analysis in future research. Additionally, each title was translated into English and Russian – the English translation aimed to make the study accessible to an international readership – while the Russian translation acknowledged its potential interest for Russian-speaking readers and also laid the ground for possible future research on translating news discourse from English to Russian. Below are the results constituting the corpus:

Figure 1. Charlie Hebdo’s headlines (24/02/2021 – 23/02/2022) encompassing the words ‘Russie’ and ‘(R)usse(s)’.

Figure 2. Charlie Hebdo’s headlines (24/02/2022 – 23/02/2023) encompassing the words ‘Russie’ and ‘(R)usse(s)’.

As stated before, this research draws on Roland Barthes’ theory of signification to analyse both the denotative and connotative meanings embedded in the selected headlines. As Barthes observes, the “peculiar effect of a realistic discourse is a ‘direct collusion of the signifier and the referent,’ while the signified is entirely turned out from the signification process” (Barthes 1986: 147). Knuuttila (2008: 115) emphasises that Barthes moves “from a reader leaning on textual autonomy to a reader feeling affectively the movements of and within the body”. In this light, headlines function as affective triggers: through them, “the signified is conflated with the referent”, producing an emotional charge – whether laughter or outrage – that is central to how the other is constructed and received (Knuuttila 2008: 120). As Peirce explains in classic semiotics, a sign is “something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity. It addresses somebody, that is, creates in the mind of that person an equivalent sign, or perhaps a more developed sign. That sign which it creates I call the interpretant of the first sign. The sign stands for something, its object” (CP 2.228; Issajeva 2015: 589). Thus, a headline’s meaning is never static; it emerges through the shifting relations of representamen (the form of the sign), object (what it stands for), and interpretant (the effect it produces).

Accordingly, Figure 3 gathers the specific words within the headlines that carry a connotative meaning and contribute to the ideological framing of Russia’s representation. These connotations were categorised as negative and less negative, with the classification – particularly for the latter – being shaped by an introspective process and therefore subject to a certain degree of subjectivity. However, this subjectivity is deemed inevitable because, as Barthes suggests, the range of connotative meanings evoked by each signifier is shaped by culture, ideology, and the context of each individual (Barthes 1957; 1965; 1977). In other words, while terms like ‘enemy’ and ‘war’ are generally agreed to have negative connotations, words such as ‘to create’ or ‘economic power’ carry blurrier and more ambiguous connotations. Therefore, this introspective approach acknowledges the subjectivity of the process, recognising that the interpretation of connotations is influenced not only by the literal meaning and global agreeance or understanding of these words, but also by the personal experiences of the person analysing them.

Figure 3. Collection of relevant lexical connotations.

As Figure 3 presents, words were categorised based on their belonging to specific lexical fields, such as military vocabulary, confrontation terms, as well as nouns, verbs, adjectives and collocations or idioms with negative or less negative connotations. Military vocabulary includes terms like ‘enemies’, ‘front(s)’, ‘war’, and ‘invasion’, reinforcing a conflict-driven view in the analysed discourse. Confrontation terms, such as ‘against’, ‘versus’, or the use of a hyphen to express opposition, contribute to structuring an antagonistic discourse in the headlines, a practice that is commonly used in the construction of headlines. The selected nouns, mostly with negative connotations, such as ‘repression’, ‘crisis’, ‘sanctions’, ‘monster’, ‘escape’, and ‘outage’, emphasise a lexical field marked by tension and adversity. Verbs and adjectives follow a similar logic, with verbs such as ‘to leave” and ‘to exit from’ and adjectives such as ‘third-rate’, ‘terrorist’, and ‘fake’. In addition, it is worth noting the decision to include a sixth category for collocations and idioms such as “to be under someone’s watchful eye” and “to take a back seat”. Although this is not the primary focus of the present research, the transfer of connotations across languages presents an interesting avenue for future investigation, particularly given the inconsistencies observed in the translation process of the headlines, i.e. an interlingual translation was sufficient to preserve the connotative meaning from French to English in the words mentioned above; however, when idiomatic expressions were involved, the process became more complex, often requiring shifts in grammatical categories or rephrasing to maintain the original connotative nuance. For instance, the expression “to take a back seat” in English is rendered in the original French version using the verb reculer, which does not have a direct one-to-one translation in English that conveys the same connotation. Similarly, the French expression sous l’œil lacks a direct English counterpart and was translated as “to be under someone’s (Russia’s) watchful eye” to preserve its original connotation.

These challenges become even more pronounced in the Russian translations shown in Figures 1 and 2, where additional linguistic adjustments were required to approximate the connotative nuances of the original French. While not central to the present analysis, this dimension highlights how the study implicitly intersects with both translation studies and semiotics. In this context, connotative meaning in the source language (French) is shaped not only by denotative content but also by the degree to which it can be rendered in the target languages (English and Russian) – a factor essential to any cross-linguistic semiotic inquiry. As Eco (2003: 35) notes, “translation is always a negotiation of sense”, particularly when meaning operates on multiple semiotic levels. The cultural specificity embedded in satirical language often resists direct equivalence and thus requires interpretative strategies that move beyond literal translation. This reinforces the idea that meaning is not fixed but reconstructed in each linguistic and cultural context, making translation not simply a technical task but a semiotic act in itself.

2.1. Headlines’ analysis containing the words Russie and R(r)usse(s) one year before the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022

There is a total of 7 relevant headlines that appear during the one-year time frame before the start of the invasion, 5 containing the word Russie and 2 containing the word R(r)usse(s). All pre-war articles belong to the International section, except for one article that is categorised under the Economics section (“Russia has become a third-rate economic power”) and another one under the Culture section (“A Russian from History”). Presented below is a compilation of all the headlines:

1. “In Russia, repression is in full swing”
2. “Navalny versus Putin: Russians protest, Europe scolds”
3. “The return of the ‘enemies of the people’ in Russia”
4. “A Russian from History”
5. “Russia – Ukraine: Joe Biden is not worried”
6. “Crisis between Russia and Ukraine: Macron on all fronts”
7. “Russia has become a third-rate economic power”

Building on the given definitions of signifier and signified, it can be observed how each headline operates on both a denotative level – conveying literal meaning – and a connotative level, where deeper ideological and cultural meanings emerge. These headlines also raise important questions regarding interlingual translation, as mentioned in Figure 3. Specific cases of interlingual translation that were conducted from French into English will also be discussed here to shed light on how connotative nuances can be preserved and adapted. Each headline has been analysed individually and, even though it has been done through the lens of Roland Barthes’ model of signifier and signified, this analysis is also subject to a process of personal introspection and subjectivity that, as mentioned above, is inevitable in this kind of study. The analysis has been done in chronological order of publication in Charlie Hebdo.

In the headline “In Russia, repression is in full swing”, the signifier ‘repression’ denotes political control and suppression of dissent. However, this connotation evokes associations with authoritarianism and Soviet-era tactics. In addition, the phrase ‘in full swing’ intensifies this imagery, suggesting that repression is not isolated but structural and ongoing. It can be argued then that the sign ‘repression’ becomes mythologised – it no longer points to a specific event, but to an inherent characteristic attributed to Russia in the Western imaginary (Barthes 1957: 181). Secondly, the headline “Navalny versus Putin: Russians protest, Europe scolds” sets up a binary between internal resistance and external condemnation. The verbs ‘to protest’ and ‘to scold’ are key signifiers. While ‘to protest’ denotes public opposition, it connotes courage and civil resistance within a repressive context. ‘To scolds’, on the other hand, carries a connotation of moral superiority, infantilising Russia by casting Europe in the role of a disapproving parent. Although the imagological discourse perspective will mainly be discussed in the conclusion, an example of this view can be seen here, as this is a clear sign of France positioning itself and the whole of Europe as the rational, democratic observer or spectant, and Russia as the irrational, authoritarian other or spected³. 

Thirdly, we encountered the headline “The return of the ‘enemies of the people’ in Russia”, in which the phrase ‘enemies of the people’ functions as a deeply loaded historical reference. Denotatively, it refers to political dissidents or those deemed threats by the state. Connotatively, it evokes Stalinist purges, repression, and ideological persecution. The use of quotation marks adds a layer of irony and signals a critical stance, framing the event as an anachronistic resurgence of the Soviet rhetoric. As Barthes notes, connotation often relies on cultural codes (1977: 98): this headline mobilises historical memory to reinforce the myth of an unchanging, oppressive Russia. 

The more ambiguous headline “A Russian from History” is less overtly critical, but still semantically charged. The signifier ‘from History’ can be interpreted as evoking something outdated or from another political era. However, in context, it can be argued that it frames the Russian figure in question as emblematic of past ideologies or actions that continue to carry negative connotations. The connotation thus subtly aligns Russia with the past rather than progress, reinforcing a narrative of political stagnation or regression. Nevertheless, due to the ambiguity of this headline, it would be necessary to read the full article to know exactly what connotative meaning the headline is hiding. 

In “Russia – Ukraine: Joe Biden is not worried”, the focus appears to shift to Western indifference or perhaps strategic restraint. However, the implication is double-edged: either Biden underestimates the threat, or the situation is not yet serious enough to warrant alarm. It can be argued that Biden functions as the spectant, observing the crisis without any active involvement or urgency, which establishes a hierarchical discourse: Russia and Ukraine are in turmoil, while the U.S. – symbolised by Biden – remains emotionally and politically detached. In either case, Russia is positioned as the potential aggressor, implicitly dangerous or unpredictable. The connotation of ‘not worried’ becomes significant, and as noted before, it may suggest calmness, but also a lack of urgency or responsibility. In addition, the headline contains a dash (–), a discursive device that does not appear often in these headlines and that carries a semiotic and ideological weight, acting as a way of representing the opposition between Russia and Ukraine in a rather visual way (Adorno 1990: 302, Patt 2013: 106).

On the other hand, the headline “Crisis between Russia and Ukraine: Macron on all fronts” brings in a different political focus with, perhaps a more diplomatic dimension. The term ‘crisis’ already carries a strong negative connotation – instability, threat, and urgency – while ‘on all fronts’ serves as a secondary signifier that frames Macron’s diplomatic efforts in warlike terms. This rhetorical choice dramatises the narrative, presenting France as active, engaged, and responsible, implicitly contrasting it with a destabilising and antagonistic Russia. 

Lastly, in “Russia has become a third-rate economic power”, ‘third-rate’ denotes a low rank but connotes degradation, failure, and inferiority in terms of Russia as an economic power. This connotation intends to show Russia’s global influence as a relic of its former self, and it constructs an image of national decline not only in economic terms but also in symbolic power. In addition, it is important to highlight the importance of revealing these connotations within the full context, as ‘economic power’, at first glance, might be read as a phrase holding a less negative or even positive connotation. However, when situated within the context of the headline – “Russia has become a third-rate economic power” – its connotative meaning shifts, revealing a critical and dismissive undertone that undermines Russia’s global standing.

2.2. Headlines’ analysis containing the words Russie and R(r)usse(s) one year after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022

There is a total of 13 relevant headlines within the one-year time frame following the start of the invasion, 7 containing the word Russieand 6 containing the word R(r)usse(s). In this case, almost all the headlines belong to the International section (a total of 7). However, the rest of the headlines are distributed in really varied sections, with 3 articles in the Economics section, 2 in the Society section, and 1 in the Cinema section. Below is a compilation of all the headlines:

1. “Maigret on the Russian front”⁴
2. “Ukraine – Russia: the war of sanctions”
3. “The Zelensky generation responds to the Russian invasion”
4. “And Russia created the European Union”
5. “Russia: the French are last to leave”
6. “Decathlon exists from Russia: all for escape!”
7. “Russian gas outage: we’ll do without it!”
8. “Russian gas crisis: ecology and democracy take a back seat in Germany”
9. “Bulgaria: elections under Russia’s watchful eye”
10. “Sanctions against Russia: democracy rather than growth”
11. “Russians create fake Charlie Hebdo covers”
12. “Russia’s terrorist head of state, Putin”
13. “‘I support Putin, does that make me a monster?’: A day in the life of a Russian grocer”

After the outbreak of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the headlines published by Charlie Hebdo reveal a sharp escalation in tone, irony, and ideologically charged language, a behaviour that is in agreement with Charlie Hebdo’s positioning, as mentioned before, as a left-wing magazine with no sympathy towards the Russian regime. The increasing hostility of the connotations of each headline will now be analysed.

Firstly, the headline “Maigret on the Russian front”, at the denotative level, suggests that the fictional French detective Jules Maigret is somehow present at the Russian front; however, the connotative meaning is far more complex. Jules Maigret is the personification of order, method, and psychological introspection, but his humorous displacement onto a battlefield, a space symbolic of chaos, violence, and irrational aggression, creates an ironic juxtaposition. This disjunction creates a connotative meaning on the absurdity of the conflict itself – a French icon of calm logic inserted into a theatre of brutality – while, at the same time, implicitly criticising rational Western diplomacy as ineffective when confronted with the violent assertiveness of Russia.

In “Ukraine – Russia: the war of sanctions”, the dash is used for the second and last time, not only as a punctuation mark, but also as a way of conveying opposition. The phrase ‘war of sanctions’ metaphorically repositions financial and political tools as weapons, which is a clear instance of second-order signification: sanctions, which denote economic pressure, are now loaded with martial connotations, reframing diplomatic acts as warfare. In addition, the substitution of war terminology with economic terminology also plays into the Western narrative that emphasises ‘civilised’ forms of engagement – money over missiles – while possibly downplaying the humanitarian consequences on the ground.

Additionally, the headline “The Zelensky generation responds to the Russian invasion” contrasts generational identity and authoritarian aggression in which ‘The Zelensky generation’ operates as a signifier in the form of a synecdoche, meaning that this ‘Zelensky generationä is probably made up of a democratic and modern youth. It connotes not just support for Ukraine, but also broader values: Europeanism and resilience, and ‘their response’ contrasts with the brutality of the ‘Russian invasion’, which is itself a sign charged with connotations of imperialism and disregard for sovereignty. This headline can also be read as considering the generational framing as a way to deepen the ideological divide, turning the war into a symbolic battle between the future (Zelensky and youth) and the past (Putin and the remnants of Soviet-style governance), reproducing thus cultural binaries such as youth/age, democracy/despotism, and, most importantly, East/West. 

One day later, Charlie Hebdo published the headline, “And Russia created the European Union”, which is one of the few that employs parodic inversion of events (Russia did not, in fact, create the European Union), resulting in an explicit satire (Lachmann et al. 1988-1989: 125). Satire is present as the headline is mocking the idea of European unity by suggesting that Russia’s aggression paradoxically strengthened European cohesion. Here, the verb ‘created’ is central as it denotes agency, but when attributed to Russia, the connotation is deeply ironic. Put differently, the sign ‘Russia’ is recoded not only as an antagonist but also as an unwitting architect of unity – a producer of the very opposition it aims to destroy. This is an excellent example of Barthes’ myth in action: the narrative absorbs contradiction (Russia as destroyer and creator) and reconfigures it to produce a new ideological message – that autocratic aggression solidifies democratic resolve.

Afterwards, Charlie Hebdo published two more headlines connected to the idea of ‘leaving’ and ‘escaping’: “Russia: the French are last to leave” and “Decathlon exits from Russia: all for escape!”⁵.  What has been found relevant about these two headlines are the signs ‘to leave’ and ‘to exit’ because they are not referring just to the physicality that implies to depart, but also to the ethical disassociation that departing means, i.e. a refusal to engage with a morally compromised state. In the headline “Russian gas outage: we’ll do without it!”, the phrase ‘do without it’ signals self-reliance, resilience, and even sacrifice and, even though on the surface it seems innocuous, it can be argued that connotatively it constructs a myth of European autonomy – a declaration of independence from what is often framed as Russia’s weaponisation of energy. Similarly, “Russian gas crisis: ecology and democracy take a back seat in Germany” plays on conflicting values. ‘Ecology’ and ‘democracy’ are signifiers with overwhelmingly positive connotations; however, saying that they ‘take a back seat’ connotes failure or even hypocrisy. In this way, the headline critiques not only Russia but also Europe’s complicity, suggesting that material dependence can override ideological principles.

Almost two months later, an article with the headline “Bulgaria: elections under Russia’s watchful eye” is published, using the metaphor of surveillance. The expression of ‘watchful eye’ (sous l’oeil de) is a well-known French idiom, but this research goes one step further, arguing that it is also drawing a semiotic power from Cold War imagery of the KGB’s control and geopolitical influence. Russia is not just a neighbour – it is an omniscient observer, interfering with democratic sovereignty, and the sign ‘Russia’ here functions metonymically, and for the first time, as a spectant and not as a spected⁶, reinforcing the myth of Russian surveillance.

A month later, the headline “Sanctions against Russia: democracy rather than growth” was published in the magazine. Here, as in some other examples, democracy and economic growth are placed in a binary opposition where it is shown that choosing democracy ‘rather’ than growth suggests moral clarity, or even sacrifice. However, this implication is also ideological: the West, and particularly Europe, positions itself as ethically driven, choosing principle over profit.

On the other hand, the headline “Russians create fake Charlie Hebdo covers” draws attention to mimicry and disinformation as creating fake covers is not just fabrication – it is an attack on the very sign system of Charlie Hebdo, a publication whose identity is rooted in satire, freedom of speech, and irreverence. Consequently, it can be argued that this headline invites a meta-semiotic reading: the signs themselves (the covers) have been falsified, which in turn becomes a symbol of ideological warfare, which becomes a struggle over the control of signs and meanings, echoing deeper conflicts over truth, propaganda, and legitimacy.

Finally, the headlines “Russia’s terrorist head of state, Putin” and “I support Putin, does that make me a monster?’: A day in the life of a Russian grocer” offer, first, explicit personification, because calling Putin a ‘terrorist’ is not only rhetorical, it is recoding a head of state into a global enemy. On the other hand, the second headline offers a sign of moral polarisation with the grocer’s self-reflective question – “does that make me a monster?” – which invites the reader into ambiguity, and into complicating the binary by showing how everyday individuals are caught in the ideological crossfire of having morals that are against the majority of their surroundings. Such complicity raises questions of collective guilt, responsibility, and the construction of the other, making it one of the few headlines that acknowledge identity complexity, even within a satirical frame.

3. Discussion of results and conclusion

Even in the year preceding the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the image of Russia already carried negative connotations. This fact confirms the choice of Charlie Hebdo as the corpus for analysis, as it is a newspaper with a clearly anti-Russian stance and, as the present analysis shows, it employs strongly negatively connoted vocabulary when referring to this country. One should consider the fact that choosing the time frame of one year before the full-scale invasion influences the negative perception of Russia, as this period saw the consolidation of several factors that led to the conflict, such as growing support for Putin in Russia, the rise of Russian nationalism, and the gradual deterioration of Russia’s international relations with Europe. In terms of the number of relevant headlines, it is worth noting that the number of articles containing the terms ‘Russia’ and ‘Russian(s)’ nearly doubled in the year following the invasion (13) compared to the previous year (7). This confirms a significant increase in discourse about Russia, which was to be expected given the international significance of the war.

From a methodological perspective, it is important to note that critical discourse analysis, viewed through the lens of Barthes’ understanding of signifier and signified, is based on an interpretive approach, which means that while this methodology has solid theoretical foundations, its application inevitably involves a significant degree of subjectivity, as it largely depends on the researcher’s introspection. This subjectivity is evident in the classification of certain terms in the connotation table. For example, the researcher may regard créer (‘to create’) as positively connoted compared to détruire (‘to destroy’), but this assessment is not universally shared. Moreover, in some cases, connotation must be analysed at the sentence level rather than at the individual word level, as the use of irony can alter meaning (as seen with puissance économique (‘economic power’) or croissance (‘growth’)). Another example of this subjectivity is the choice of the newspaper, time frame, and textual structures, i.e. keywords to conduct this analysis. Had a different time frame or different keywords been selected, the results might have differed, just as they might have if a more neutral newspaper, such as Le Monde, had been chosen. However, the very aim of this study is to challenge these subjective aspects and rigorously examine a phenomenon that, while intuitively predictable, i.e. the fact that Russia and Russianness hold a negative connotation in Western society, has not yet been subjected to an in-depth analysis. Thus, the subjective layer of this research makes it a unique medium for sparking debate, particularly among people with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

In terms of imagology, it can be established that the hetero-image of Russia in Charlie Hebdo – a left-leaning, anti-Kremlin newspaper – is characterised by pronounced negativity, portraying Russia as an aggressor state with a totalitarian and repressive regime. Importantly, however, this negative image existed even before the invasion, albeit with a different emphasis: previously, Russia was primarily perceived as a country with a corrupt and authoritarian government, whereas after the invasion, the representation shifted to focus more on its role as an aggressor. While these findings may seem predictable, the diachronic analysis of this image’s evolution is of particular interest. 

Taking the invasion in 2022 as a reference point, one could trace back to a period when Russia’s image had a neutral or even positive connotation and analyse the factors contributing to that shift. Similarly, in the future, this methodology could assess whether Russia’s image undergoes further changes, at what point past perceptions persist or fade away, and to what extent new stereotypes about Russia are being created. In addition, this research also challenges traditional imagological analysis in Europe because it does not examine a country’s image based on long texts but rather adopts a method where headlines are treated as units of analysis, which is challenging because, although headlines are brief, they are dense in meaning. This is to say that while headlines may not always construct a complete image on their own, they often function effectively in shaping public perception, precisely because they are designed to be attention-grabbing, summarising, and provocative. This means that headlines can encapsulate and project key ideological positions, especially in politically oriented or satirical media. In the case of Charlie Hebdo, the interplay of language, humour, and visual elements further amplifies their representational power. Therefore, although each headline may not offer a full narrative, the cumulative effect of multiple headlines allows an analysis of how Russia’s image is constructed and circulated in this specific cultural and media context.

This paper represents a small-scale investigation into how the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo has altered its representation of Russia and Russianness before and after the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. As expected, this representation has changed not only in Charlie Hebdo but also in most Western media outlets, which have adopted a clear anti-Russian stance. The analysis of the results through the lens of Barthes’ signifier and signified, along with the concept of imagology, suggests the possibility of the formation of new stereotypes about Russian people. However, considering the limited scope of the corpus – both in terms of the volume and the nature of the material – it is difficult to make definitive conclusions about the emergence of new, stable stereotypes because, despite the high level of connotation in the headlines, they contain too little text for a thorough analysis in terms of extracting stereotypes. Moreover, it is important to note that Charlie Hebdo does not represent the media landscape of France as a whole, which limits the possibility of extrapolating the conclusions to a broader French audience. For these reasons, further development of this research could take several directions: firstly, through an analysis of full-length articles, which would allow a deeper exploration of potential stereotypical constructions; secondly, by expanding the temporal coverage and the list of keywords. Finally, it would be particularly interesting to analyse whether a negative image of Russia in Western media discourse existed well before the invasion of 2022, and even before the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 – a hypothesis that could be tested by reviewing the archives of a representative sample of Western media.

In conclusion, this paper has demonstrated that Charlie Hebdo consistently constructs a negative image of Russia, one that not only predates the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine but also intensifies in its frequency and sharpness afterwards. While the scope of the corpus is necessarily limited, the findings highlight the capacity of headlines – precisely because of their brevity, density, and rhetorical force – to serve as powerful instruments of image building and ultimately stereotype formation. By combining Barthes’ semiotic framework with imagology, the study shows that even short and provocative media texts contribute actively to shaping collective perceptions of nations in moments of geopolitical tension. In this sense, the research underscores that media discourse is not a passive reflection of events but an active agent in constructing public imaginaries. Lastly, and as stated before, the interpretive subjectivity of discourse analysis, far from being a weakness, opens a productive space for debating how images are built in media. Future research expanding the corpus across different outlets and time frames could test whether the patterns observed here apply more broadly across Western media. Moreover, applying insights from some of the sub-disciplines mentioned in the introduction could provide a richer, multidimensional understanding of how media discourse creates images and can potentially consolidate negative national stereotypes in times of conflict.

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank Professor Jennifer Friedlander for showing me for the first time what a text was, to Professor Ekaterina Velmezova for her valuable input on the study of connotations, and to my professors, Irmak Mertens and Luc van Doorslaer, for introducing me to the study of imagology. Their expertise has been essential to the development of this research. I would like to thank León Ihrke for always being by my side, for the deep conversations we have shared, and for the thoughtful, caring advice that has meant so much to me.

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