Image matters. In attracting investment, for example, economic and political fundamentals are important, but good image can do a great deal of service. It helps you capture the headlines and get ahead. It positively shapes people’s opinions about you. Alternatively, bad image can do some serious damage.
Image is something Russia has struggled with. Domestically, reforms are in full swing, people seem happiest since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and support for the current government is unprecedented. In G7 countries, however, Russia often is a country of billionaires (2nd to the US according for Forbes) and democratic reversals – in other words, as the recent BBC poll has put it – Russia “causes concern.”
How do you reconcile the two such different trends? How do you get Western views of the country on the same level with the Russian population?
You can try and figure out the root sources of such a difference in opinions. Or you can simply put tens of millions of dollars into creating the “right image.” This includes introducing
new media ventures to target international audiences; foundations to promote Russian language and culture around the world; conferences to charm Western opinion-makers; and nongovernmental organizations that are setting up shop in Western capitals to scrutinize the failings of Western democracy.
One may think that international pressure doesn’t matter – countries will follow their own course. The Russian example, however, suggests the opposite – spending money to positively brand the country abroad (not only economically but socially and politically as well) shows that critical voices do reach their intended targets, even if seemingly dismissed as nonsense.
This is probably good news for activists around the world. Their voices are in fact heard.
Published Date: March 06, 2008