The Language Resources of the Russia’s Foreign Humanitarian Policy: The Digital Components

The rapidly changing geopolitical situation has dictated the need for a conceptual design of the humanitarian policy of the Russian Federation abroad as a direction of foreign policy that is gaining priorities. The formation of an objective perception of Russia in the world involves systematic interaction with foreign audiences through digital infrastructure. Numerous digital platforms, being created by foreign tech giants, with their own rules and standards, compete with states, influence public opinion and public discourse. The “Russian language” of one of the largest segments of the digital space is ambivalent: in other words, it does not always mean a complimentary attitude towards Russia and Russian culture. Based on the available and collected data of Internet statistics, an assessment is made of the role of Russian-language digital resources as an opportunity to achieve the goals of Russia’s foreign humanitarian policy. On the example of the RuWiki, the Russian-language section of the Wikipedia online encyclopedia, it is shown how social media can be used in an ideological and value confrontation. In a comparative vein, Russian initiatives in the creation and promotion of national digital platforms are described on the example of encyclopedic portals - “Knowledge” based on the Great Russian Encyclopedia and Runiversalis. The main directions of humanitarian policy in the digital space are outlined, considering the geopolitical context. It is concluded that the development of domestic digital infrastructure will create a common semantic field for gravitation towards Russia, the Russian language and culture, regardless of the geopolitical situation. It is suggested that the formation of a more pronounced Russian-speaking segment of the global network reflects the idea of a multipolar world defended by Russia.