{"id":125477,"date":"2020-09-09T11:13:57","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T08:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=125477"},"modified":"2020-09-09T11:13:59","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T08:13:59","slug":"how-kremlin-uses-soft-power-for-malign-influence-case-of-rossotrudnichestvo-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/how-kremlin-uses-soft-power-for-malign-influence-case-of-rossotrudnichestvo-in-ukraine","title":{"rendered":"How Kremlin Uses \u201cSoft Power\u201d for Malign Influence: Case of Rossotrudnichestvo in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Russian media\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0the government has launched \u201csoft power\u201d reform that has been long discussed in Moscow. While no specific details are revealed, it is known that game-change will, first and foremost, affect Rossotrdunichestvo (Agency for CIS Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation) as the primary institution involved in advancing Russian \u201csoft power\u201d abroad. The newly appointed head of organization Yevgenii Primakov is\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0to be skeptical about its traditional tool-kit focused on art events and advancing Russian language and literature.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is, then, safe to assume\u00a0Rossotrudnichestvo will expand its focus<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 and so will other institutions in the field, with the possibility of establishing new ones or even designing a relevant \u201cnational project\u201d quite open. The ultimate question is how soft the reformed \u201csoft power\u201d will be, considering that its other structural elements include RT and Sputnik \u2013 outlets more often than not involved in spreading disinformation on Kremlin\u2019s behalf and getting\u00a0banned<\/a>\u00a0for their systemic misconduct in countries such as Latvia and Lithuania (Estonia<\/a>\u00a0\u201cdoes not exclude the possibility\u201d and is likely to follow). Rossotrudnichestvo is less discussed in this regard but also is of importance. It operates fully in 60countries via Russian Cultural and Scientific centers \u2013 and is represented in occupied territories of Georgia, having branches in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. As demonstrated via the case of Ukraine,\u00a0the institution is involved in promotion of Russian revisionist historical narratives and overall amplification of Kremlin\u2019s hybrid influence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rossotrudnichestvo in Ukraine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainian branch of the organization is led by Lidia Dyachenko, who is also the First Secretary at the Embassy of Russian Federation in Ukraine. Given that Rossotrudnichestvo is a governmental body within the framework of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this cooperation is expected \u2013 just as the fact that agency is hardly neutral. Organization typically tries to refrain from potential conflicts and avoids publicly echoing Moscow\u2019s narratives on \u201ccivil war\u201d, \u201cfascism\u201d and \u201cRussophobia\u201d, but their sentiment remains quite clear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019 the local Russian science and culture center declared it will continue its work in Ukraine despite the latter had left CIS \u2013 and\u00a0raised<\/a>\u00a0issues of \u201cviolation of rights to religious freedom and acts of vandalism in regard to Russian historical and cultural heritage<\/em>\u201d. This claim may be viewed as a veiled\u00a0attack on the new independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine<\/strong>\u00a0that has been widely targeted by Kremlin as a \u201cschism\u201d and \u201cheresy\u201d for disengaging from Russian Orthodox Church. It\u00a0may also be perceived as criticism of decommunization policy<\/strong>\u00a0in Ukraine, as removal of monuments to controversial Soviet figures and renaming of streets always triggers a strong reaction from Russian government that has repeatedly harassed Ukraine, the Baltic states, Poland and Czech Republic over these issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is worthwhile to note that due to the Ukraine\u2019s abovementioned departure from CIS\u00a0grounds on which Rossotrudnichestvo operates in the country are questionable<\/strong>. It draws on the valid agreement \u201cOn establishment and operating conditions of cultural and informational centers\u201d; however, the document stipulates the functioning of precisely that, cultural and informational centers. Meanwhile, Rossotrudnichestvo remains a governmental agency and, in violation of the abovementioned agreement, it has not legally registered as a cultural center. Security Service of Ukraine reportedly\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0it has filed several requests to the National Security and Defense Council to enable closure of the institution. Former advisor to the head of SSU, Yaroslav Antonyak,\u00a0insists<\/a>\u00a0Rossotrudnichestvo constitutes a threat to Ukrainian national security and warns\u00a0the institution\u2019s employees are likely to be directly involved with Russian security services<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focus on WWII<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rossotrudnichestvo promotes Kremlin\u2019s vision of WWII, the reshaped history of which has become a major political myth\u00a0used<\/a>\u00a0by current regime as a unifying instrument and as a tool to promote Russia\u2019s image abroad, among other purposes. The institution\u00a0organized<\/a>\u00a0a public demonstration of Victory Parade in Moscow on June 24th \u2013 event that Ukraine, among others, officially refused to attend, given Kremlin\u2019s militarist policy towards its neighbors. A number of historical lectures and an\u00a0exhibition<\/a>\u00a0have been organized that feature Soviet-style wording preferred by modern Russian elite as well \u2013 e.g., Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) instead of WWII that completely erases early Soviet cooperation with Nazi Germany. Soviet occupation is traditionally\u00a0portrayed<\/a>\u00a0as \u201cliberation\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, there is\u00a0a disproportionate amount of content focusing specifically WWII<\/strong>: out of circa 105 publications from May 1 to July 16 2020, circa 45 were dedicated to this topic. The same tendency stands for the events organized by the institution: since April 2020, Rossotrudnichestvo held 10 topical exhibitions (out of 11 in total during this time). Rossotrudnichestvo has also\u00a0shared<\/a>\u00a0an article on \u201cThe Real Lessons of the 75th Anniversary of World War II\u201d by Vladimir Putin, which has been widely criticized for whitewashing of Soviet regime and many historical inaccuracies \u2013 and features attacks on several Western countries, including Poland and Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such focus on WWII may be explained by two primary factors. First, it is a less conflict-generating issue than direct criticism of Ukrainian government on issues such as Russian language that Kremlin repeatedly insists is threated in the country. Second, Kremlin\u2019s vision of WWII is a meta-narrative<\/strong>, promotion of which paves way for susceptibility to other narratives. It establishes the positive perception of the Soviet Union as a part of broader campaign to put autocracies against democracies and portray them as more effective (something Moscow does frequently, in particular regarding the COVID-19 crisis); it reestablishes the narrative of \u201cbrotherly nations\u201d brining Ukraine into Russian area of influence; it facilitates the narrative on \u201crising far-right\u201d and Moscow\u2019s ultimate moral authority to combat them as \u201cvanquisher of Nazism\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell me who your friends are<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A circle of organizations and movements Rossotrudnichestvo is frequently involved with deserves attention as well. The list is rather long and it\u00a0includes<\/a>\u00a0actors such as International Association of Slavic Unity of Pyotr Stolypin, Kharkiv Community of Eastern Slavs; Kyiv Community of Russian compatriots \u201cMotherland\u201d, International Pedagogic Club etc. They form a network used for mutual influence amplification, as the narratives they promote are mostly the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n