Communicative reality, as a dimension of social reality, gives shape to the media sphere as a territory for interpretation and value formation. In the media sphere, we likewise observe the forma; tion of separate axiological semantic spaces. The most ancient of spaces that of the "sacred" is permanently agitated by its antipode the space of the "blasphemous." In political terms, "sacred" is associated with the social majority, and "blasphemous" - with the social minority. The dynamic of their refraction in the media sphere changes one's view of the world.

"Blasphemous" acts of individuals' society juxtaposes "blasphemous" acts by individuals to traditions and norms of expression and behavior. With the support of political elites, traditions and norms are reinforced through legal acts. The State Duma of the Russian Federation thus passed the "Law on the Protection of the Feelings of Believers" (2013), which toughened penalties for public actions that are deemed insulting to citizens' religious feelings. It was the actions of the Pussy Riot group in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in 2012 that provoked the legal "escalation" of the situation; a debate about the "sacred" and the "blasphemous" ensued, in which the general cultural interpretation of the "sacred" and "blasphemous" dominated the religious and political at the surface, which camouflaged the real political message. Crimea's entrance into the make-up of Russia in 2014, and the President's appeal to the sacred foundations of Russian statehood to justify it, strengthened the dynamic of this value-based discourse. This research establishes a correlation between spiritual and legal fundamentalism, on the one hand, and the value-based polarization of the media sphere in contemporary Russia.