Introduction: Russia’s cultural statecraft

The introductory chapter to the book discusses the key concepts of culture and statecraft and the relationship of ‘cultural statecraft’ as the organising concept to neighbouring concepts such as cultural diplomacy, public diplomacy, international cultural relations and, in particular, soft power. It constructs the theoretical framework for analysing Russia’s cultural statecraft. By looking at a number of institutional domains that represent culture, the book asks to what extent different cultural activities have been used for foreign policy purposes and whether they are perceived as having a political dimension. The chapter also examines how cultural statecraft was developed in Russia after the end of the Cold War and particularly during the Putin era after the mid-2000s. Finally, the chapter outlines the chapter structure and key contents of the book.