Russia’s Public Diplomacy Effort: What the Kremlin is Doing and Why It’s Not Working

Abstract

Since 2005, the Kremlin has allocated millions of dollars to various public diplomacy initiatives in an effort to improve Russia’s international image. However, the Western media and mainstream public opinion are still highly unsympathetic toward Russia. After analyzing some basic theories of nation-branding and public diplomacy, this article argues that Russia lacks a clear and consistent public diplomacy strategy, as there is a disconnect between what the Russian government does and says in the domestic arena and the image that the Kremlin is trying to project to international audiences. Russia is still struggling to overcome the legacy of the Soviet era, and any efforts to overcome the bipolar climate of the Cold War and cooperate multilaterally have been contradicted by its reluctance to abate an ‘us-vs.-them’ mentality. The Kremlin’s inability to execute effective media campaigns further agitates anti-Russian prejudices in the West and hinders the country’s efforts to improve its international reputation.