Russia's "soft power" policy towards Kazakhstan in the research field on Central Asia

Abstract

An important component of bilateral Kazakh-Russian relations is the cultural, humanitarian and educational sphere. In foreign policy, these directions are traditionally classified as "soft power". In this sense, the research question aimed at considering one of the modern trends of Russia's "soft power" in relation to neighboring countries and its interpretation in the studies of scientists is relevant. The authors consider some of the views of the academic community on Russian “soft power” with the aim of a general understanding of how Russian soft power has prospects for spreading its influence in Kazakhstan. This article aims to analyze some opposing academic views and show their strength and limitations. A critical analysis of the strategic documents of the Russian Federation points to repeated references to the importance of soft power in the description of Russia's foreign policy priorities. Using the example of Kazakhstan, the article discusses the main strengths and weaknesses of Russian “soft power” and its effectiveness. It is important to note that this paper is not aimed at reconstructing the general theoretical idea of «soft power». The authors strive to show different approaches and assessments of researchers about Russian «soft power» policy using the example of Kazakhstan as a country where Russian «soft influence» prevails the most.