Lau Chiu Lun (Andy)

Far Eastern Federal University е-mail: andy.lau@family.ust.hk Supervisor: Kopus T. L. candidate of Philological sciences, Associate Professor

Branding Russia: the Russkiy Mir Foundation in East Asia

The Russkiy Mir Foundation’s Diplomatic Agenda

In 2007, at the behest of President Vladimir Putin, the Russkiy Mir Foundation was established as joint project by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Science, to “promote the Russian language, which is Russia's national heritage and a significant aspect of Russia and world culture, and to support Russian language teaching programs abroad” [1]. While not explicitly stated in the decree, like the media giant Russia Today, the Sochi Games and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Foundation bears a political agenda to increase the country’s soft power, which has been clearly worded in the official website of the cultural relations actor [2].

The concept of cultural diplomacy has been introduced to Russian foreign policy thinking only recently. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, which was considered a major geopolitical disaster by President Vladimir Putin, the political elites of the Russian Federation have never ceased transforming the country to a Great Power. During the presidency of Yeltsin, the country was pondering new foreign policy thinking and strategies, abandoning the once influential Communist ideology [3]. Under the rule of Putin and Medvedev, a more consolidated vision has been formed, comprising both traditional hardpower facilities, which is most evident through the use of force in the event of disputes with neigh bouring countries such as Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, as well as soft-power strategies, coined and popularized by Joseph Nye in 1990 [4] and was mentioned multiple times in Russian political discourses [5]. Soft power according to Nye can be understood as attractive power, and a country’s values, culture and policies are the sources of attractiveness, thus soft-power resources [6]. The Russkiy Mir Foundation, as an important arm in promoting

21

Russian culture and values, is undoubtedly one of the tools to project the attractiveness/soft power to the world.

The Model

A public diplomacy vehicle, according to foreign policy specialist Mark Leonard, can serve the following strategic aims:

1)Increasing familiarity

2)Increasing appreciation

3)Engaging people

4)Influencing behavior [7].

The Russkiy Mir Foundation, as a cultural relations actor focusing on language teaching, can hardly increase familiarity and appreciation. Very often language learners are already familiar with the target language and have an interest towards the nation/culture before seeking tuition. Of course, the physical presence of the language schools themselves and the word of mouth generated by learners do help achieve the first two objectives in the hierarchy; the main avenues to arouse the awareness and create positive images however rely heavily upon the intrinsic prowess of the country, such as international influence, foreign policies, cities, businesses and individual artists.

The Foundation, on the other hand, is an excellent means to engage people and influence their behave our. The acquiring of a foreign language is often the gate to receiving further education in the target country. Nye has pointed that, during the academic and cultural exchanges between the US and the Soviet Union, on top of scientific advances, political ideas were as well “stolen” to the Communist regime, which influenced the political stance of the Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev [8]. Former US Secretary of State Collin Powell also said in 2011 “I can think of no more valuable asset to our country than the friendship of future world leaders who have been educated here” [9]. China, armed with a similar cultural relations actor the Confucius Institute, sees the learners it has hosted taking up important roles in their native countries: “official statistics reveal that some 30 former international students in China now hold minister-level positions in their home countries, more than 10 have served as ambassadors to China, and over 30 are attaches posted in China…. more

22

than 120 are senior faculty members at universities in their home countries” [10].

The East Asian Context

…The role of Asia Pacific region is rising…Certainly, Russia being an integral and organic part of the region is also strengthening its presence here [11].

As pronounced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russia is an integral part of Asia Pacific Region. According to the Pew Global Attitudes Project in 2013, opinion of Russia in Asia varies. 27% in Japan have a favourable opinion on Russia, while in South Korea and China there are 53% and 49% respectively [12]. 5% in Japan have a favourable opinion on China, while in Russia and South Korea there are 62% and 46% respectively [13].

The fact that Russia enjoys a generally positive image in Korea and China can be regarded as a hint of soft power in the two nations, and that a certain degree of familiarity and appreciation is secured. As discussed before, the Russkiy Mir Foundation works the best at engaging people and influencing their behaviour. There are currently 7 and 2 Russkiy Mir Foundation establishments in China and South Korea respectively. The Confucius Institute, China’s cultural diplomacy institution, on the other hand, operates 17 learning centres in both Russia and South Korea. [14] Contrasting the polling results and the number of learning centres of Russia and China, a more aggressive expansion of the Russkiy Mir Foundation in the two nations would be advisable.

The comparatively low rating in Japan indicates that the Foundation can take a more passive role in the country. While there is only 1 operation in Japan, further expansion definitely merits consideration, but caution should be exercised as the cultural diplomacy institution itself can be a source of bad public image. In the United States, criticisms towards the Confucius Institutes are not uncommon concerning the negative impact on academic freedom [15].

References

1. Decree of the president of the Russian Federation on the establishment of the Russkiy Mir Foundation, 21 Jun 2007.

23

http://www.russkiymir.ru/russkiymir/en/fund/index.nested/decree_text.htm l [9 Apr 2014].

2.Dolinsky, Alexei. How to strengthen soft power? 2 Mar 2011. http://www.russkiymir.ru/russkiymir/en/magazines/archive/2011/03/article 0002.html [9 Apr 2014].

3.Maliukevičius, Nerijus. (Re)Constructing Russian Soft Power in Post-Soviet Region. Baltic Security & Defence Review, Vol 15, Issue 2, 2013.

4.Nye, Joseph S. Jr. Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power. Basic Books, 1990.

5.Maliukevičius, Nerijus. (Re)Constructing Russian Soft Power in Post-Soviet Region. Baltic Security & Defence Review, Vol 15, Issue 2, 2013.

6.Nye, Joseph S. Jr. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. PublicAffairs, 2004.

7.Leonard, Mark. Public Diplomacy. The Foreign Policy Centre, 2002.

8.Nye, Joseph S. Jr. Soft Power and Higher Education. Internet and the University Forum, 2004.

9.Ibid.

10.Gill, Bates and Huang, Yanzhong. Sources and Limits of Chinese 'Soft Power'. Survival, Vol 48, No 2, 2006.

11.Lavrov, Sergey. Towards Peace, Stability and Sustainable Economic Development in the Asia Pacific Region, 5 Oct 2013. http://www.mid.ru/bdomp/brp_4.nsf/e78a48070f128a7b43256999005bcbb 3/d19a0531b380362544257bfb00259b9e [9 Apr 2014]

12.Global Views of Russia. Pew Research Center, 3 Sept 2013. http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/09/03/global-views-of-russia/[9Apr 2014].

13.Global Image of the United States and China. Pew Research Cener, 18 Jul 2013. http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/07/18/global-image-of-the- united-states-and-china/ [9 Apr 2014].

14.Holden, John. Influence and Attraction. British Council 2013.

15.Schmidt, Peter. At U.S. Colleges, Chinese-Financed Centers Prompt Worries About Academic Freedom. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 17 Oct 2010.

24