The article is devoted to identifying the ideas of Kazakh youth about life in Russia, their choice of media
sources and evaluation of the obtained information from the viewpoint of reliability. The research material
is compared with previous surveys of Kazakhstanis to reveal changes in the dynamics of their attitude
towards Russia. The study was conducted in April–May 2021 during the second wave of the Covid-19
pandemic. The purpose of the work is to show the communicative, functional and structural-semiotic media
resources used in the construction of the media image of Russia in Kazakhstan. New structural components
of the image of Russia after the Ukrainian events have been identified. The conclusion is that, despite the
external information pressure from the Western media, the Kazakh media form an integral model of a
positive image of Russia. The study has revealed a high degree of trust in the information of the official
and online media of Kazakhstan and Russia. At the same time, the research has shown the necessity to
adjust the media image of Russia as a response to external challenges, threats and the enormous information
pressure of the united West and the United States, the reduction of external news channels. The creation of
an axiological basis of the media image as a component of the respondents' world model and the formation
of a positive image of the country should become a priority task of the Russian foreign policy.