The Russian Flag Will Be Flown Wherever Russian Is Spoken

The “Russkiy Mir” (“Russian World”) Foundation is a Russian cultural diplomacy institution established as a non-governmental organisation, though closely controlled and coordinated by the Kremlin and funded almost exclusively from the Russian federal budget. The Foundation has become the organisational embodiment of the ideology of the “Russian world”, the geopolitical concept of Russia’s political elites that emphasises the originality and uniqueness of “Russian civilisation”, expressed in the Russian language, culture, and Weltanschauung. For several decades, the “Russian world” concept has been used to justify Russian expansionism in its “near abroad” and globally. The Foundation collaborates closely with the Russian state and pro-Kremlin organisations in Russia and maintains an overseas network of Cabinets and Centres of the “Russkiy Mir” Foundation with fairly extensive geography, especially in locations where the Russian diaspora is concentrated. The Foundation’s primary objectives are the propagation of the Russian language and the promotion of Russian culture in the broadest sense. It accomplishes this through the allocation of grant funding to NGOs, educational and research institutions, and media outlets functioning abroad. In addition to the distribution of funds, the Foundation also operates its own media, including a website, a TV and radio company, and a magazine. In general, the Foundation’s activities spread conservative elements of Russian culture, aimed at uniting Russians and Russia’s sympathisers abroad rather than systematically cultivating a lasting positive attitude towards Russia among international audiences. It is the instrumentalisation of the expansionist and revisionist principles of the ideology of the “Russian world” and the lack of open dialogue on equal terms with other countries and cultures which prevents the Foundation from engaging in genuine cultural diplomacy that could genuinely improve attitudes toward Russia among the populations of foreign countries.