On the eve of the V Russkiy Mir Assembly, our journal takes a look back at the results of the Foundation’s work in 2011, highlighting the most interesting programs and events. We will begin with the most important: The Russkiy Mir Foundation achieved a qualitatively new level, which was noted when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev tasked the organization with specific diplomatic objectives and the when Prime Minister Vladimir Putin spoke about the importance of the organizational and informational resources of the Foundation.

In June of this year Vladimir Putin, speaking about a new federal target program call Russian Language with 2.5 billion in financing, noted: “The organizational and informational resources of the Russkiy Mir Foundation and International Foundation for Humanitarian Cooperation among CIS States should be used to promote this theme within framework of bilateral intergovernmental contacts.”

Furthermore, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev tasked the Russkiy Mir Foundation with establishing contacts with the BRICS countries. “In this area, which we were assigned as one of the leading NGOs, the Foundation has been able to achieve a rather important status thanks largely to the active engagement and authoritative standing of Vyacheslav Nikonov,” explains Georgy Toloraya, Director of Regional Programs for the Russkiy Mir Foundation. “I would note that Track II diplomacy, i.e., non-official contacts of experts and diplomats on a private level, on the key issues of international relations and problems between countries can sometimes achieve more than official contacts between government bodies. Such contacts are developing in Europe and in the US, but it is in Asia where the Foundation in conjunction with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has in the last one or two years made a considerable mark – numerous meetings, conferences and dialogues are being held.” 

For example, in September delivered a speech in China during celebrations of World Peace Day as well as at the Northeast Asia Peace and Development Forum, which was attended by high-level representatives of China, Japan and Mongolia. He spoke about mechanisms for peaceful regulation of conflicts in Northeast Asia and humanitarian cooperation with Russia.

In September the Russkiy Mir Foundation and the Russian Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs created the National Committee for BRICS Studies. This noncommercial organization will act an umbrella structure, formulating and coordinating the work of research groups from various academic centers and regions of Russia. Over time, foreign specialists will be invited to join in the organizations work. The main aim of the research is to determine the role of the BRICS in global economics and politics. Academic Council of the organization will serve as a center for developing a strategy for research work and publications. Director of the Institute of the Far East (RAS) Academic Mikhail Titarenko was elected chairman of the presidium while Vyacheslav Nikonov will head the executive board of the organization and handle its management.

“Naturally, in developing a strategy for the future development of the BRICS the intellectual component will be of great significance,” Vyacheslav Nikonov said at the inaugural meeting of the organization. “And Russia has the opportunity to claim a major role in the development of the ideology and development strategy for the BRICS. Of course, the structure of Track II engagement is exceptionally important, as here experts, diplomats and officials will meet in a private setting, and this provides a serious reserve for promoting Russia’s position on the general strategy.”

Planetary Scale and Scope

At the previous Russkiy Mir Assembly on November 3, 2010, Vyacheslav Nikonov announced the start of a program called First in Space celebrating the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s flight into outer space. The scale and scope of this project exceeded all expectations, with organizations throughout the world spontaneously joining in, and in every corner of the world people joyfully celebrated Gagarin’s feat on April 12.

This project involved an extraordinary number of events – festival, conferences, videoconferences, film lectures, roundtables, contests, competitions, thematic lessons, exhibitions, photography exhibits, tree plants and much more. A documentary film called First in Space commissioned by the Russkiy Mir Foundation was broadcast on Russian television. More than 8500 works – essays and articles, drawing and films – from 40 countries were entered into a creative competition organized by the Foundation. Residents of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, Kyrgyzstan, Estonia, Germany and Latvia were the most active in the competition. In total winners were selected from 15 countries worldwide, and they were from many walks of life: children, students, teach and journalists. One of the main focal points of the First in Space project was that the first language to be spoken in outer space was Russian.

The remarkable resonance of the First in Space project is a sign that “the entire planet sees Gagarin’s flight as their own person triumph, as this was a breakthrough of all of humanity out of the bounds of earth’s gravity into the enormous space of cosmos,” said Vyacheslav Nikonov. “It was the fantastic achievement of hundreds of thousands of people – scientists, designers, engineers and workers – that was embodied in this flight.”

Form Word to Action

One of the brightest aspects of the Russkiy Mir Foundation’s work in 2011 was the continued development of its Russian Centers and Russkiy Mir Cabinets. Today 75 Russian Centers and 65 Russkiy Mir Cabinets are functioning worldwide. This year 10 centers and 28 cabinets were inaugurated, and another 9 center and 18 cabinets are scheduled to open in the near future.

“In my sphere of activities is the Western Hemisphere – North, Central and South America. By the end of this year we plan to open Russkiy Mir Cabinets in Santiago, Chile, as well as in New York and Boston, bring the total number opened here this year to seven. Last year we opened six cabinets,” says Director of American Program Nikolai Mikhalov. “A Russkiy Mir Cabinet is also on the way in Montreal, where the issue of location is now being resolved.” These cabinets – auditoriums and classrooms where people can learn about Russian language and culture – are provided by the Foundation with modern libraries.  

“As far as Asia and Africa are concerned, the most active, as earlier, have been our Chinese partners. Positive movement has been seen in Turkey, Thailand, India, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam and both parts of Korea,” notes Georgy Toloraya. “New centers and cabinets are being opened in countries of the Asia Pacific, the Foundation is providing support to the relatively few Russian specialists in this area, and people from here are participating in internships. Things are moving along with difficulty in Africa, and since it is difficult to work directly with partners we are being helped by embassies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Rossotrudnichestvo. Cabinets have opened in Kenya and open is preparing to open in Zambia. Cabinets are actively operating in Egypt. For obvious reasons we have slowed our operations in the Arab world, where it is not possible to carry out long-term projects. Although before the start of the spring events, we opened a center in Jordan and it is working rather productively.”

The most unusual Russian Center was opened not in some exotic country but aboard the training sailing vessel Nadezhda, which right now is plowing the waters of the Pacific Ocean. This vessel is on an expedition aimed at strengthening ties to countries of the Asia Pacific. In March 2012 the vessel will depart on a journey to all of the APEC countries ahead of that organization’s summit in Vladivostok in September. The Russian Center aboard the Nadezhda is stocked with 500 books on Russian history and art, works of literature, reference materials and a comprehensive film library. During port calls guests of this flagship are invited to take part in various programs, contests and roundtable discussions.

Internships and Grants

For the second year running, the Foundation’s internship program has been in high demand. This program brings foreign students to Russia to study the Russian language and methods for its teaching. “Not long ago we launched the Russkiy Mir Teacher program in Venezuela, and it has been working for some time in the US, Canada, Chile and Argentina,” says Nikolai Mikhailov. Teachers participating in the program say this experience is invaluable. Dr. Leszek Mikrut, a teacher at Maria Curie Sklodowska University in Lublin, wrote this: “All of our classes at RUDN [Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia] were taught on a high professional, methodical and methodological level, and participation in them brought us all not only satisfaction but also great benefit. Having acquired necessary new experience, we begin a new year of work with our students in our countries and we will be ambassadors of the Russian language and Russkiy Mir on all the continents.”

Most grants provided by the Russkiy Mir Foundation were issued in support of projects of compatriots abroad – mainly in countries where many former Russian citizens live. The funds went toward the publication of textbooks, learning materials, conferences and festivals. But the Foundation supports Russian organizations as well. These include the Dmitry Pokrovsky Folk Music Ensemble (which travels on folklore expeditions recording song and dance traditions), the Anatoly Lisitsyn Foundation (which is organizing a School of Russian Culture for Russian teachers in Western Ukraine), and many others.

The Word Rules the World

The Foundation’s informational resources, in particularly its Internet radio and Internet television, have reached qualitatively new level. Russkiy Mir Radio received the prestigious International Popov Award for Russian Language Radio Broadcasting. “Our efforts have not gone unnoticed, as we not only create our own programming but also often exchange with partner radio stations in other countries, hold radio link-ups with other Russian-language stations in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Canada, Germany and the US,” says Irina Arkhipova, Director of Special Programs and Projects of the Russkiy Mir Foundation. Right now Russkiy Mir Radio is working on joining the International Alliance of Russian-Language Broadcasters, an organization initiated by Voice of Russia, which hosts some of Russkiy Mir Radio’s programming. As Vyacheslav Nikonov notes, Russkiy Mir Radio focuses on issues concerning the teaching of the Russian language, promotion of Russian Culture, interviews with major figures in Russian culture and philology.

Some of the most popular programs on the radio station – Golden Lectures of Russkiy Mir, Smyslinitsa and The Word Rules the World – are hosted by professors of Pushkin State Institute of the Russian Language. “Our radio has become well known to the extent that it acts as an informational sponsor,” notes RMR producers and host Lyubov Kuryanova. “This year we acted as a sponsor for concert in the Kremlin where three world legends met: Djivan Gasparyan, the Presidential Orchestra of the Russian Federation and the Sretensky Monastery Choir.”

In addition to its regular programming, Russkiy Mir Television has produced three documentary films – Russkiy Mir Teacher (dedicated to last year’s assembly), First in Space and Russia – A Country of Wonders (a journey across the Kamchatka, Arctic, Far East, Siberia, Urals and Caucasus).

On the whole, in 2011 the Foundation took another step down the path of consolidating an enormous world – Russia beyond Russia. And as Vyacheslav Nikonov noted during the IV Russkiy Mir Assembly, “following the trials of the difficult 20th century the time has come to gather people not stones. This is the enormous reality of Russkiy Mir, which has been spread across the entire planet – from Australia to Argentina. Outside of Russia there are more people who speak Russian and consider themselves a part of Russkiy Mir than inside Russia itself. This is a whole other Russia outside Russia.”