Interview by Maria Sidelnikova. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Pavel Rodkin, an expert from the Higher School of Economics, told Vestnik Kavkaza that Russia should pay more attention to its image both at home and abroad.
- Pavel, could you please tell us how a positive image of the country is formed and how Russia looks today?
- The question of the country's positive image and national brand is actively discussed in Russia nowadays. This problem exists at a systematic level, it is being addressed everywhere in the world. This question is not decorative, image is not the final goal, it is not about a nice picture only, it has a purely pragmatic meaning. The image of a country in the world and in its own society forms the motivation for activity. Contemporary society is a consumer society. Today's culture is a mass culture. This is particularly true for the West, there are different points of view as to whether it is good or bad, but this is a fact. The contemporary instruments of branding cannot exclude those conditions. We and society should speak the same language. If we talk about soft power, soft power as an instrument of American policy operates through contemporary communications. This includes social networks, new approaches, advertising, that is similar to commercial advertising, it is created according to the canons of commercial advertising to affect a society in the most effective way.
The Russian problem is that nobody systematically deals with branding Russia for the foreign audience and for its own citizens. There are of course some real victories, such as the brilliant Sochi Olympics, both from the point of view of infrastructure and image. It is no secret that the attitude to the Olympics beforehand was rather skeptical, but afterwards, already after the opening ceremony, after the communication, the distribution of the souvenirs, advertising, this attitude completely changed. This is a positive example. Another positive example, which shows that Russian state communications are learning the modern language, is the approval of the sign for the national currency, the sign of the ruble. It seems to be very local and technical, but it has a big meaning from the point of view of state symbolism.
- The North Caucasus, perhaps more than any other region in Russia, needs to have its image changed. Could you please tell how the situation can be improved?
- First of all, it is necessary to start anew the programs and projects on the branding, advertising, political and cultural promotion of the North Caucasus. The situation has changed. And many paradigms and constructions do not work anymore. It is impossible to create a positive image once and forever. It is necessary to respond to numerous challenges, the image has to be verified and adjusted.
I believe that the work with the North Caucasus needs to be started anew. It is necessary to consider the new conditions, connected to Crimea, the change in attitude towards Russia and the inspiration inside Russia. Before Crimea, in the mass media the question of bringing the Maidan from Kiev to Moscow was already solved, but after the Crimean events the situation changed. This needs to be used for the benefit of the North Caucasus and other regions. There is nothing scary or catastrophic, because contemporary communications are very flexible and allow for quick reactions to situations and for working with image. In contemporary branding there are no difficult topics, no unconquerable territories, no unsolvable situations.
