The article analyzes the state of cultural security in Russia in the context of the application of soft power from 2019 to 2026. Three dimensions of cultural security are identified: protective, projective, and institutional. The dynamics of key indicators of these dimensions are analyzed: Russia's position in global soft power rankings; the number of foreign students; the ranking of universities in international ranking studies; incoming tourism; the presence of international media platforms in the Russian market; the corruption perception index. It is established that after 2022, the Russian Federation is experiencing a transformation of its soft power model from universal to regionally oriented: BRICS+, Asia, Africa, etc. Systemic vulnerabilities are identified: the exit of leading universities from the top 100 international rankings and a record decline in the corruption perception index. Directions for ensuring cultural security are formulated: the creation of a coordinating body for analyzing the effectiveness of participation in international organizations, collaborative policy in education, and measures to ensure transparency in innovation policy. Research methods include theoretical methods—analysis and synthesis of scientific literature on soft power, cultural security, and international relations; empirical methods—secondary analysis of statistical data; indicator analysis method; logical methods—comparative analysis; and methods of generalization and classification in formulating practical recommendations. The scientific novelty of the study is as follows: an author's operationalization of the concept of "cultural security" is proposed and tested through three dimensions (protective, projective, institutional) and a system of quantitative indicators. Empirical material from 2019 to 2025 reveals the transformation of Russia's soft power model from universal to regionally oriented. A contradiction is established between the growth in the number of foreign students (over 400,000 by 2025) and the decline in the positions of Russian universities in international rankings (Moscow State University has left the top 100 QS and THE), which is interpreted for the first time as a distortion of the institutional dimension of cultural security. It is proven that the deterioration of the corruption perception index directly harms the institutional dimension by blocking the formation of an image of a transparent state necessary for effective soft power. Mechanisms for ensuring Russia's cultural security in the context of shifting geopolitical orientations are formulated.
Bogdan Aleksandrovich Anikin (Sun,) studied this question.