Russia’s Cultural Statecraft

Sirke Mäkinen is University Lecturer in Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland, and the Head of the Nationwide Expertise in Russian and Eastern European Studies (ExpREES) programme. Tuomas Forsberg is Director of the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies (HCAS) at the University of Helsinki and Professor of International Relations at Tampere University.

"This book is a fascinating contribution to both IR and Russian studies, as it elaborates a useful tool for understanding the role of culture in international politics and presents the analysis of various domains of Russia’s cultural statecraft thus exploring an important but largely neglected aspect of its international activity."Olga Malinova, Higher School of Economics, Russia."This innovative analysis of cultural statecraft shifts the focus away from the competitive and ultimately reductionist notion of ‘soft power’ to the inherent grace of cultural achievement and interactions at the state and interstate level, theorising the elements of contention and cooperation and combining them into a coherent new paradigm. A brilliant and original team effort."Richard Sakwa, University of Kent, UK.

• 1. Introduction: Russia’s Cultural Statecraft 2. Higher Education as a Tool for Cultural Statecraft? 3. Fine Arts and International Relations: Russian Museum Diplomacy 4. Forging Common History: Russia’s Cultural Statecraft and the Soviet Second World War Monuments in Europe 5. ‘Russian literature will fix everything’: The Read Russia Project and Cultural Statecraft 6. The Future State: Russian Cinema and Neoliberal Cultural Statecraft 7. Soviet Legacies and Global Contexts: Classical Music and Russia’s Cultural Statecraft 8. Stagecraft in the Service of Statecraft? Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 9. International Events in the Service of Cultural Statecraft: The Sochi Olympics and the World Festival of Youth and Students 10. Sport as Cultural Statecraft: Russia and the Kontinental Hockey League 11. In Search of Past Glory: Russia’s Cultural Statecraft in the Age of Decline