Yekaterina Tesemnikova. Exclusively to VK
Apprising the effectiveness of Russia's “soft power” policy, experts and its providers complain for lack of programs’ financing and off-target spending of money allocated by the offices of Rossotrudnichestvo. They say that in some cases money allocated to this or that secondary arrangements directed at support of compatriots surpassed direct financing of Russian compatriots’ organizations. At the same time, information on held actions becomes transparent, and necessity in most of them is doubtless.
Next week Rossotrudnichestvo gathers the International Student Forum in Berlin sponsored by Gazprom. Students, presidents of universities, and scientists of leading Russian and German universities, state and social activists of both countries will speak about joint projects in the educational sphere. The first forum was held two years ago within the Year of Russia in France. This year the participants of the forum will not reach France, but the Week of the Russian language and the Russian culture is taking place there. The head of the Rossotrudnichestvo office in France, Igor Shapynov, sees his top task in promotion of the positions of the Russian language abroad together with improvement of Russia’s image and composing of the Russian-speaking community as an element of “soft power”.
Shpanov admits that it will be difficult to catch up rivals: “Our foreign colleagues, despite the crisis, maintain the volumes of investments which cannot be compared with Rossotrudnichestvo’s financing: Goethe Institute – 159 offices in 92 countries with 300 million euro budget.”
It is obvious that “a donkey who carries bags with gold will open any gates,” but the question is what other methods are available for Russia.
“The French say “Culture multiplies greatly the real weight of any country in the world.” We have such potential too,” Spynov thinks. “The Russian-speaking movement is a strategic international reserve, “soft power” for Russia. More than 300 million people in the world are speaking Russian. The Union of Russian Speakers of France exists in France. It unites 50 modern humanitarian associations. But there is no common international organization. The French experience shows how important to have such an organization. Rossotrudnichestvo might be an engine which starts this effective resource. The example of our Russian Center of Science and Culture shows that we can function as a multi-functioning center. We actually have the Institute of the Russian Language in Paris – 1 500 students and high-professional tutors. It is high time to return the brand of Pushkin Institute to Russian language institutes and courses abroad. It is a very serious brand, it demands hard-working. We need our own modern mechanism for teaching the Russian language as a foreign language. Experts consider Russia as an attractive state for the youth. But understanding is difficult: there are lack of information and presence of negative communication. We try to fill gaps – we have published two books in French. It is a drop in the ocean.”
