PICREADI is ranked among top five Russian "soft power" NGOs
New research by the Institute for International Cultural Relations at the University of Edinburgh for the British Council
October, 2017
In its new research by the Institute for International Cultural Relations at the University of Edinburgh has found that promoting a nation's culture and political ideals on the global stage brings significant economic and strategic advantages.
The new research was conducted for the British Council by the Institute for International Cultural Relations at the University of Edinburgh. It used available data from 2000 to 2012. Experts assessed how various forms of soft power – including cultural institutions, prosperity and internet connectivity, democracy and foreign aid, and overall cultural ranking – influenced a country's international pull.
As for Russia, the report says that president Putin has taken a close interest in soft power. In 2013, he issued a decree liquidating the state-owned news agency RIA Novosti and the Kremlin's international radio station, Voice of Russia, and replacing them with Rossiya Segodnya, or Russia Today, creating what commentators have called a "huge machine for propaganda in the West", in an effort to "break the monopoly of Anglo-Saxon media on the world's news" (Ennis 2013).
The research argues that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the lead body for Russia's soft power. Other important agencies are: Russki Mir, Rossotrudnichestvo, Gorchakov Fund, Russian International Affairs Council, PICREADI.
In its new research by the Institute for International Cultural Relations at the University of Edinburgh has found that promoting a nation's culture and political ideals on the global stage brings significant economic and strategic advantages.
The new research was conducted for the British Council by the Institute for International Cultural Relations at the University of Edinburgh. It used available data from 2000 to 2012. Experts assessed how various forms of soft power – including cultural institutions, prosperity and internet connectivity, democracy and foreign aid, and overall cultural ranking – influenced a country's international pull.
As for Russia, the report says that president Putin has taken a close interest in soft power. In 2013, he issued a decree liquidating the state-owned news agency RIA Novosti and the Kremlin's international radio station, Voice of Russia, and replacing them with Rossiya Segodnya, or Russia Today, creating what commentators have called a "huge machine for propaganda in the West", in an effort to "break the monopoly of Anglo-Saxon media on the world's news" (Ennis 2013).
The research argues that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the lead body for Russia's soft power. Other important agencies are: Russki Mir, Rossotrudnichestvo, Gorchakov Fund, Russian International Affairs Council, PICREADI.
Analyzing Russian soft power NGOs, authors state that PICREADI has been backed by Kremlin.
Analyzing Russian soft power NGOs, authors state that PICREADI has been backed by Kremlin.
"A range of Kremlin-backed NGO's such as the Gorchakov Fund, Picreadi, and think thanks such as the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) are organising soft power related events (courses, seminars and conferences) bringing together different foreign audiences within an academic context, while promoting Russia's image abroad".
Following the publication of the study by the British Council that mentioned our connection to the Kremlin, PICREADI would like to make the following comments.
"A range of Kremlin-backed NGO's such as the Gorchakov Fund, Picreadi, and think thanks such as the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) are organising soft power related events (courses, seminars and conferences) bringing together different foreign audiences within an academic context, while promoting Russia's image abroad".
Following the publication of the study by the British Council that mentioned our connection to the Kremlin, PICREADI would like to make the following comments.
We are very glad to have been included among five Russian soft power-related organizations that drew international attention. It is a great honor for us to be mentioned in the same breath with the Gorchakov Fund, Russian International Affairs Council, Rossotrudnichestvo, and Russkiy Mir. Because the reality is that in contrast to all these organizations we have not been founded by the state. We were founded by a group of individuals. Unlike the above mentioned organizations we do not have a large budget, including state funding. We run our project on a volunteer basis or using grants, for which we compete on equal terms with all other Russian NGOs. Kremlin's backing would come in handy, but we do not see that. We are putting together an English-language project — the Meeting Russia program for young leaders, and we are apparently doing it well so that it drew attention of the study's authors. Even more so, they put us in the category of Kremlin-backed NGOs. And this is great! This is a testimony to the success sought by our young and bold team for many years. Thank you for giving credit to our work!
PICREADI TEAM
PICREADI TEAM
To read the full version of the reseach. Photo.
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