Russia is preparing a large-scale restructuring of its foreign influence tools. According to open sources, the Kremlin is working on a scenario to centralize the management of "soft power" directly under the control of the presidential administration, which effectively means the end of any institutional independence of "Rossotrudnichestvo". This is reported by UNN with reference to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
Details
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the first deputy head of the presidential administration, Serhiy Kiriyenko, will likely oversee the new structure.
"Rossotrudnichestvo" has long positioned itself as a structure of cultural diplomacy. The reform finally removes this cover. Among the planned changes is the reorientation of the agency from cultural and humanitarian activities to comprehensive external influence: information campaigns, work with target audiences, and coordination of loyal structures abroad. The agency, which was previously considered an integral part of Russian special services, is now receiving institutional formalization for this purpose.
In addition, Russia is separately working on the creation of a specialized fund to finance media and humanitarian projects abroad. This is a structure that the Kremlin declares as an analogue of USAID, but which, in its architecture, is closer to the mechanism of hidden financing of influence networks through the non-governmental sector, Ukrainian intelligence noted.
Recall
In Russia, against the backdrop of deteriorating relations with the West and increasing isolation, interest in Asian countries has grown. Russian students are massively choosing Asian universities instead of European ones due to sanctions. Chinese and Korean languages have become the most popular among Russian youth.