A Comparative Study of Policy Transformation in the Digitalization of Cultural Heritage in China and Russia: From Digital Preservation to Digital Use and Mediatization

The subject of this study is the transformation of state policy in the field of cultural heritage digitalization in China and Russia from 2010 to 2025. The object of the study is the approaches adopted by the two states to the organization of digital cultural heritage in the context of the development of digital infrastructure, platform environments, and new forms of public communication. The article examines the transition from the digital preservation of cultural heritage to its public use and media dissemination, the changing role of platforms and state institutions, as well as differences in policy instruments and implementation mechanisms in the two countries. Particular attention is paid to the incorporation of digital cultural heritage resources into public services, cultural education, tourism practices, and media environments, as well as to the influence of artificial intelligence, AIGC, and digital services on policy priorities. The study employs the comparative method, diachronic analysis of policy documents, and case study analysis. It compares the stages of policy evolution, regulatory instruments, and implementation mechanisms in China and Russia. The main findings of the study are as follows. First, the digitalization of cultural heritage in China and Russia is not limited to technological modernization or the creation of digital archives; rather, it constitutes an institutional process associated with changes in the goals of state policy, the forms of public use of cultural resources, and the ways these resources are incorporated into media environments. Second, both countries demonstrate a transition from digital preservation to digital use and media dissemination, although the trajectories of this transition differ. China places greater emphasis on centralized strategic planning, interagency coordination, cultural-tourism integration, and intelligent digital services, whereas Russia relies more heavily on state projects, institutional platforms, and the digital interpretation of cultural heritage. The novelty of the study lies in examining the digitalization of cultural heritage not only through the lens of preservation and technological development, but also as a political transition toward more complex forms of use, mediatization, and administrative coordination. The author’s particular contribution to the study consists in the comparative analysis of China and Russia based on a combination of mediatization theory and the theory of policy instruments, which makes it possible to identify differences not only in the pace of digitalization, but also in the logic of organizing public access to, interpretation of, and dissemination of digital cultural heritage.