Russian Cultural Statecraft in the Eurasian Space

This article is an introduction to a special issue that deals with Russia’s cultural statecraft in the Eurasian space. The contributions focus on the role of civilizational discourses, status, historical legacies and educational diplomacy in Russia’s foreign policy and in its relations with its neighbors. We have opted for the term ‘cultural statecraft’ rather than ‘soft power’ or ‘hybrid warfare’ that are frequently used when cultural aspects of Russian foreign policy are discussed, because these terms are loaded, misunderstood, and biased. Therefore we believe that a notion that is normatively more neutral but still encompassing of a variety of non-military and non-economic instruments of power is worth introducing. Statecraft puts more emphasis on the influence techniques and instrument available for the leadership and therefore sees the role of culture in foreign policy more from a top-down rather than bottom-up perspective.