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this area that would take into account both international experience
and national peculiarities and build on mechanisms of interaction with
civil society and experts; further developing the regulatory framework
in the above-mentioned areas (§390).
The Concept, which was approved by President Putin in February 2013, also
directly defines soft power as: “a comprehensive toolkit for achieving foreign
policy objectives building on civil society potential, information, cultural and
other methods and technologies alternative to traditional diplomacy, [which] is
becoming an indispensable component of modern international relations.” 32
The Military Doctrine stipulates that it is legitimate to use the Armed Forces to
“ensure the protection of its citizens located beyond the borders of the Russian
Federation in accordance with generally recognized principles and norms of
international law and international treaties of the Russian Federation” (§ 20). 33 It
specifies that: “With a view to protecting the interests of the Russian Federation
and its citizens and maintaining international peace and security, formations of
the Russian Federation Armed Forces may be used operationally outside the
Russian Federation” (§ 16). Furthermore, it states that one of the main tasks of
the armed forces and other troops in peacetime is to “protect citizens of the
Russian Federation outside the Russian Federation from armed attack” (§27j).
Russian citizens and compatriots abroad are thus seen as a vital group.
Supplementing the doctrinal and strategic approach, a number of important
documents regulate Russian policy in the area of increasing its influence in the
world. These are examined below.
2.6 The Image of Russia and Russians
Abroad: Governmental Programmes and
Policy
One of the basic laws regulating Russia’s Compatriots Policy is the Law on State
Policy on Compatriots Abroad. It was adopted in 1999 but has undergone several
changes and was most recently amended on 23 July 2013. It recognizes four
categories of compatriots: (1) persons born in a state, who live in it and are
characterized by a common language, history, cultural heritage, tradition and
customs, and their direct relatives; (2) citizens of the Russian Federation living
permanently abroad; (3) those born in the Soviet Union who now live in states
that used to be part of the Soviet Union, and who have obtained citizenship in
their country of residence, as well as those without any citizenship; and (4)
32 Foreign Policy Concept, op. cit. (2013).
33 Military Doctrine (2010): Voennaia doktrina Rossiisskoi Federatsii, 5 February 2010,
http://www.scrf.gov.ru/documents/18/33.html.
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