Reputation Management as an Applied Communication Technology in Digital Society

This paper aims to study the advantages of reputation management as an applied science in the digital society. In Russia, the theory of reputation management has not been adopted in full. Additionally, existing publications very often tend to ignore the issue of coordinating scientific theory and current practice. At the same time, an extensive system of PR support for government authorities has been created, as well as PR in business is highly developed, especially in public corporations. However, the mentioned gap between practice and theory remains. One of the ways to overcome the current situation can be found in the use of the case study approach in education and research with application to the specific cases from among current political events. In the fall of 2021, the elections of deputies of the Gosudarstvennay Duma (Russian Parliament) were held, after which the scandal around the deputy of the Gosudarstvennay Duma from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Valery Rashkin received a great response. The authors argue that the communication models developed within the framework of the modern theory of reputation management are applicable for the analysis of practical cases related to information attacks on basic PR subjects. A careful analysis of the case of Valery Rashkin easily reveals both general and specific factors that influenced the development of events. In particular, Rashkin’s anti-crisis communications errors include the flimsiness of the original ‘legend’, the inconsistency of the position, and the loss of support from the party. The informational attack on Valery Rashkin was of a professional and complex nature, while not affecting the most important political aspects of the established reputation. In our opinion, we cannot talk about the rejection of scientific research and the development of theoretical knowledge in the field of reputation management. We are talking about a combination of modern theoretical approaches, effective research methods, and practice for the development of public relations in Russia. Public relations as a scientific discipline is one of the applied sciences with direct practical application. This is precisely the competitive advantage of this specialty in Russia.