Russkiy Mir Руський Мир (ua)

1) russian pseudo-NGO, financed by the russian State and working closely with itcreated in 2007 to promote Russian language and culture abroad and which serves in reality as a bridge between the government and relays of influence abroad;

2) the concept of the Russian World (Russkiy Mir) is a geopolitical tool for building up Russian legitimacy and influence in the region, and a key framework for its proxy groups. As defined by Putin in 2014, the Russian World is a civilization that includes people who feel culturally close to Russia.The Russian World thus has a fluid geography for its advocates. The current narrative of the Russian World encompasses:
– language (Russian-Speaking Communities),
– culture (EurasianOrthodox identity),
– history (Russians and Ukrainians were ‘one people’, ‘the Great Patriotic War‘ etc),
– shared heritage (the Soviet historical narrative),
– economic links (The Eurasian Economic Union, EAEU; the Eurasian Customs Union),
– religion (The Russian Orthodox Church, ‘Orthodox oligarchs’, the Orthodox Union of Youth, the Eastern Orthodox civilization…),
– conservative values (in opposition to Western values of liberalism and individual human rights).

The “Russian world” portrays the former USSR as a single universe of Russian language and culture, cemented by common historical experience, including the brotherhood of arms during the Great Patriotic War. Ukraine and Belarus play a special role in the “Russian world” project as parts of the “triune Russian nation”, connected by “eternal” ties with Russia (these countries are thus not viewed as fully sovereign).