The Role Of Russkiy Mir Foundation In Russian-US Cultural Relations In 21th Century

In the twenty-first century,due to the emergence of new challenges and increasing threats in the global international system,states,as the main international actors,seek to strengthen cooperation and expand diplomatic relations.In this case cultural diplomacy nowadays is consider to be the way of encouraging greater cooperation through the means of culture(such as system of beliefs,material values,ideology,customs and way of life)among nations which can change public attitude towards a concrete country in an allied state as well as to prevent a potential conflict between them.Cultural diplomacy also intensifies socio-cultural partnership and encourages national interests of a particular state.Interaction between states through cultural cooperation can be identified as relevant in view of the fact that cooperation in the field of culture is the main “barrier” to open confrontation between any states,and culture represents one of the measures of IR,which J.Nye characterized as “soft power”1.And it goes without saying that a peculiar role for fulfilling the goals of cultural diplomacy is played by organizations which exist for promoting cultural values and traditions and which consider to be a specific tool for achieving the foreign policy targets of a state by the means of international cultural cooperation.Cultural diplomacy plays a special role in the implementation of Russia’s foreign policy strategy.By this term we mean a system of measures taken by the government of the Russian Federation for the dissemination and popularization of national(domestic)culture abroad.Russia nowadays actively promotes cooperation through culture,education and science in order not only to strengthen cooperation and make allies with other states but also to reduce the risks of possible conflicts.One of the main organizations in Russia which reflects the main ideas of cooperation in the sphere of culture with other states is the Russkiy Mir Foundation(translated as “Russian World Foundation”).According to the official website,the objectives of this Foundation are “to promote the Russian language,which consider to be a national treasure of Russia as well as the important elements of Russian culture and to support programs for the study of the Russian language abroad”2.This Russian Foundation plays a significant role in cooperation with international educational and cultural institutions and promotes the dissemination of the objective information about modern Russia thus creating a favorable public opinion towards Russia and its citizens on this basis.That’s why Russkiy Mir Foundation can consider being one of the significant instruments for Russian foreign culture politics.Due to the fact that in the XXI century such countries as Russia and USA are characterized as ones of the most authoritative political actors on the international stage,it’s important to find out how they cooperate with each other in terms of cultural contacts.This research is based on the examination of the activity of Russkiy Mir Foundation on the territory of the United States through its cultural projects and programs.In my work I tried to find out how cooperation in the framework of this Foundation can influence on Russian –US relations in the sphere of cultural diplomacy.Due to the possibility that any mechanism of cultural diplomacy can provide a paradigm for managing great power relations,it was necessary to analize(using the Qualitative Research Methods)the importance of Russkiy Mir Foundation for Russian-US cultural contacts,identify how the Foundation’s activities can influence and even transform the relationship between these states and find out strong and weak points of cooperation in the framework of Russkiy Mir Foundation.So,the objective of thesis is Russian –US cultural contacts in the framework of Russkiy Mir Foundation.The main purpose of the thesis was to reveal the specifics of cultural contacts between Russia and the USA and to identify problematic aspects of Russian-US contacts in the framework of Russkiy Mir Foundation and possible ways of their solution.Subject of thesis – projects and programs of Russkiy Mir Foundation.The main aim of the thesis is to make analyze of Russian-US cultural cooperation through the prism of the Russkiy Mir Foundation’s activity.In the current research I started(in Chapter 1)with the introduction of my work including description of theoretical part(Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power concept),research questions,definition of methods which I used for my thesis,case selection,time framework and etc..In Chapter 2 I began with analyzing of the background of my study(more precisely,about the Russian cultural diplomacy and Russian soft power concepts which were necessary to identify due to the fact that they represent the platform for “RM” Foundation’s work).Also I revealed the characteristics of the work of cultural diplomacy of the Russian Federation in the United States in the new century to find out how these two states cooperate in the terms of culture and analyzed the work of “RM” Foundation itself for explaining to the potential reader what is the working of this cultural organization as well as analyzing its main activity as a tool of Russian cultural diplomacy.After presenting the background,I started to analize the activity of the Foundation(in Chapter 3)on the US territory(through the established Russian centers in New York and Washington)and found out the what has been achieved in the framework of the Foundation’s activities in the USA by analyzing major programs and projects(e.g.project of Charter schools(2010);target long-term program(so-called “Cabinets of the Russian World”);thematic bilateral forums,etc.)which were provided and coordinated by the organization from the period of 2008 till 2018(the research material was mainly presented by the official web-site of “RM” Foundation(such as annual reports of the Foundation’s activity)and documents of the Russian government).It was also necessary to reveal what kind of challenges existed for the activity of “RM” Foundation on the US territory(in Chapter 4).I found out that such problems as the political tension between states,lack of the interest in the Russian language as well as lack of proper financing have a negative impact on the activity of the Foundation which in its turn affected on the Russian cultural diplomacy towards the USA and tried to find if it’s possible to solve them nowadays.Also I analyzed the influence of the Foundation and identified its role on the Russian-US cultural relations which reflects in confirmation that in modern Russian-US relations "soft power" of Russian cultural diplomacy represented by Russkiy Mir Foundation becomes one of the most effective ways to develop bilateral partnership between countries at the global and regional levels by demonstrating Russian cultural and moral values to other society.Among main findings of the thesis I can name such as: the activity of “RM” Foundation has increased the interest in the Russian language and Russian culture in the USA which in its turn helped to spread positive image of Russia among American citizens;thanks to Foundation a base for mutual understanding by measures of culture was created and it’s necessary to mention that the organization provides the information recourses which presented “real” information about Russia and its people;at the same time the Foundation in the framework of its programs and projects on the US territory helped to create a platform for Russian –US bilateral humanitarian dialogue in the framework of which Russia and the USA can solve mutual problems.To conclude(in Chapter 5),I summarized the results of research material and gave the answer to the primary research question “How the establishment of Russkiy Mir Foundation affected the Russian-US cultural cooperation?” which provides in the argument that since its creation in 2007,Russkiy Mir Foundation(which represents itself a strong cultural mechanism of the Russian government),by providing joint cultural programs on the US territory contributed to the creation of mutual understanding(by measures of culture and education)as well as the creation a platform for Russian-US cultural cooperation and strengthening ties between Russian diaspora in the USA with non-Russian speakers.In the last part I also give recommendations on how to improve the work of the Foundation so that in its turn can effectively influence on further Russian-US cultural cooperation.The current research will be a valuable addition to works on cultural diplomacy of Russia and especially on works concerning Russian-US cultural and educational cooperation.This topic of cultural cooperation in the framework of Russkiy Mir Foundation between Russia and the USA can be unique due to the fact that there was not such analysis in this direction between these states before.This work consists of an introduction,five chapters(the last chapter represents the conclusion)and a list of literature and sources.represents the summary of the work,describing the situation platform of the research.Chapter Ⅰ – presents the overview of this research which includes major information about the purpose of the thesis and provides details of the research(such as the description of methodology and the theory,used in the work;timeline;case selection and so on).The first chapter also presents the description and analysis of literature and source materials which helped to form the main base for this research.Chapter Ⅱ – analyzing the background of current research which includes review of the Russia cultural diplomacy as well as Russian soft power and activity of Russkiy Mir Foundation in the framework of Russian cultural diplomacy.Also it presents the analysis of Russian cultural diplomacy towards the USA in the new century.It consists of four paragraphs.They provide information on what kind of priorities and programs within the framework of cultural diplomacy Russia has.Chapter Ⅲ –presenting the analysis of the activity of Russkiy Mir Foundation on the territory of the USA.It consists of two paragraphs.The aim of this chapter is to reveal the achievements of the Foundation on the US territory through analyzing its projects and programs.Chapter Ⅳ– providing the analysis of the challenges existed in the terms of Russian-US cultural cooperation for the work of Russkiy Mir Foundation.It consists of two paragraphs.They are aim to demonstrate the problematic moments in the sphere of activity “RM” Foundation in the USA and assess the role and the influence of the Foundation on Russian-US relations.ChapterⅤ – providing the conclusion part of the current research and recommendations for potential improvement of the Foundation’s work within the framework of bilateral cooperation of the countries.It consists of two sections.