Russian Cultural Diplomacy: Is There a Room for Culture?

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

Cultural diplomacy seeks to shape a positive perception of one country among the population of another through cultural means. However, this definition fails to withstand the scrutiny of the authoritarian approach of the Russian Federation to its official cultural diplomacy. Russia, through its cultural diplomacy institutions, manipulates historical facts to undermine and weaken its opponents and uses disinformation to promote its political agenda under the guise of culture. The Ukrainian Institute has conducted a series of evidence-based analytical studies devoted to the activities of Russian cultural diplomacy institutions (Rossotrudnichestvo, "Russkiy Mir" Foundation, Gorchakov Foundation), as well as case study of actors, narratives, and achievements of Russian cultural diplomacy in Germany. In addition to the UI as the initiator of this roundtable, research by a number of scholars and journalists in different countries of the world testifies to the fact that Russia instrumentalizes culture as a foreign policy tool to attempt to legitimize its aggressive actions in the international arena in general, and, in particular, in Ukraine. The official Kremlin positions culture as a means of reconciliation, a universal phenomenon outside of politics, in fact trying to justify its hard agenda through its soft power. All this is reflected in the manipulation of both political elites and the opinion of the general public. Within the framework of the roundtable with experts from different countries we will discuss how the world can resist Russia's manipulation through culture, and how Ukraine and Ukrainian cultural diplomacy are able to counteract these destructive influences.

Sub Unit

• Anthropology, Cultural Studies

Chair

• Volodymyr Sheiko, Ukrainian Inst (Ukraine)

Roundtable Speakers

• Bartlomiej Gajos, Mieroszewski Centre (Poland)

• Mariia Protsiuk, Ukrainian Inst (Ukraine)

• Martin Laryš, Charles U (Czech Republic)

• Dessie Zagorcheva, CUNY