Education as a Resource for the Formation of “Soft Power” in Working with Young Compatriots Living in the CIS countries

Abstract

In the Russian Federation the relevance of researching policy towards Russian-speaking young compatriots living abroad is growing. Firstly, Russian-speaking compatriots are the demographic potential of Russia, and nowadays institutional mechanisms have been developed and implemented to facilitate the voluntary resettlement of compatriots living abroad to the Russian Federation. Secondly, in the conditions of geopolitical instability Russian compatriots are a source of “soft power” preserving the unity of the Russian world. This study discusses the potential of education as a source of state policy aimed at coordinating work with young compatriots in the CIS countries. The purpose of this work is to identify the main problems and strategies of using education as a “soft power” resource in relation to Russian compatriots living in the CIS countries. The research methodology is based on “soft power” theories and political communication theories. The research method is a discourse analysis of the newsletters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (Russian MFA) for 2012-2022. During this period 1949 documents were published, the sample is solid but not every document contained information on the studied problem. During discourse analysis the following tools of public administration were evaluated: communication and institutional resources of education as the basis of Russia’s “soft power” in the CIS countries aimed at preservation of communication with Russian-speaking compatriots. The discourse analysis revealed the transformation of the main policy strategies in relation to Russian-speaking compatriots justified both by geopolitical challenges and the final formulation of the ideological concept of Russia. Russian language and culture preservation and the development of public diplomacy were the main strategies in 2012-2014. Since 2014 efforts to preserve historical memory have been intensified, and by 2020 a discourse aimed at justifying the preservation of traditional values is being formed. The transfer of education combines these stages as a key strategy that promotes the voluntary resettlement of compatriots to the Russian Federation or the preservation and reproduction of traditional culture on the territory of other states.

Keywords

• commonwealth of independent states (cis)
• compatriots
• education
• communication
• “soft power”
• russian language
• voluntary resettlement