| On October 30, 2013 the business-oriented Forbes.com put Russian President Vladimir Putin at the top of its list of "The World's Most Powerful People," unseating United States President Barack Obama. Forbes said its editors made the decision based on the power of the person over a large number of people, the financial resources controlled by the person, their power in multiple spheres, and the degree to which they actively use their power.;Revisionist media commentary immediately followed the report, pointing out that Russia remains a regional power, that its economy, while improving, still ranks fifth in the world, significantly trailing those of the United States and China. The ranking also appeared to be, at least partially, a reaction to Russia's skillful shift in diplomacy on the Syrian conflict, by which it proposed a plan to destroy the Assad regime's chemical weapons. Others noted that Forbes is a conservative publication, and part of its editors' motivation might have been the desire to criticize a Democratic President.;It was, nevertheless, a stunning turn-about for Russia's President, an indication of how quickly evaluations of a leader and his or her country can shift, based on their perceived influence. That perceived influence is a component of soft power, the ability to attract or co-opt others by diplomacy and other non-coercive methods.;In this thesis I will examine Russia, and Vladimir Putin's, use of soft power. This study will show that Putin and his government are in the process of rebuilding Russia's soft power and public diplomacy instruments that collapsed along with the Soviet Union, and that they have had some success.;This study also will show, however, that soft power consists of more than a temporary shift in opinion on a leader's power and influence, that it ultimately is rooted in a nation's values and its civil society, and that Russia still must allow those roots to grow, in order to fully exercise its soft power. |
