IMAGOLOGY OF RUSSIAN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR ARMENIA AND GEORGIA IN THE MASS MEDIA. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Education is an indefeasible aspect in the policy of each state. Thanks to the high level of education, the state can improve its internal potential and develop economic indicators. Therewith, in the context of globalization, education can reinforce the international relations. Many countries implement different educational programs from student exchange programs to special scholarships for foreign students. The most important aspect in this strategy is a formation of common educational space among the neighbouring countries sharing their borders with each other as it gives an opportunity to expand diplomatic and cultural relations. For instance, Russia has been cultivating relations with the post-soviet countries thanks to the sphere of education. Today the Russian Federation offers a number of educational programs for foreigners, including such widescale project as "Rossoutrudnichestvo", different olympiads for high school graduates and particular university competitions. According to statistics, 230 000 foreign students nowadays study in Russia and 31% of them study for free. In the case of cooperation with Armenia, the common educational space helps Russia to maintain historical connection and stable relations between countries. As for Georgia, in this case education promotes cultural relations, which were seriously damaged in 2008. However, today the sphere of education needs an appropriate image and its representation highly depends on Mass Media. First of all, the global world is now becoming more interconnected through the social media; secondly, Mass Media has a teaching function. Therewith, Mass Media and education are deeply connected with each other. But the modern media space is transparent and, consequently, pluralistic, so the image of the education in the state can be either positive or negative depending on the disposition of Media. That is why it is especially interesting to analyze the formation of image of Russian Education in Transcaucasia with the aim to conduct not only the comparative analysis, but also to predict the most significant trends of political relations in the region through the education.