tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28879619408723541282020-05-08T14:00:37.183-04:00The UNdiplomatic blog on public diplomacy and international communicationYelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.comBlogger305125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-74650628717557228942014-11-10T02:54:00.000-05:002014-11-10T02:54:58.973-05:00

So, I started blogging for USC's Center on Public Diplomacy. The first topic suggestion was a broad introduction to Russian public diplomacy. That's quite a tough task -- describing everything Russia does in one blog post. That is why I ended up with two (which, if you ask me, isn't enough either). They were published almost a week ago, but I wanted to repost here, too, for those who might have

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-48630238708053589052014-10-11T02:59:00.000-04:002016-03-14T13:10:23.367-04:00

It's been more than a week since I arrived in Russia, finally. For the first time. Yes. Ever. I'd never been to Moscow before (except for agonizing hours in the airport transit area, that is). It is even more exciting and intriguing to be here at such a time, as the region undergoes massive and rapid changes (crashing and burning?) and as the Iron Curtain seems to be coming back down. I'm here

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-83967141667937065032014-07-02T08:00:00.000-04:002014-07-02T08:04:09.209-04:00

I was talking to a new acquaintance from Ukraine a few days ago, and he mentioned that there seemed to be an interesting discrepancy in the political map of Ukraine on the Russian search website - aspiring Google alternative - Yandex. I looked it up and turns out he was right: on the maps of the Russian domain - yandex.ru - Crimea is shown as a part of Russia; while on the Ukrainian -

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-64940348205505441892014-07-01T09:50:00.002-04:002014-07-01T09:50:43.351-04:00

Football is perhaps the first thing that comes to mind in terms of Brazil and public diplomacy these days, but in Yerevan, the Brazilian Embassy had a different treat for the public: an evening of live music. According to the Brazilian Ambassador Edson Marinho Duarte Monteiro, the event on June 27 was part of a global series of Brazilian music concerts organized by the embassies around the

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-59978369639404913282014-06-29T10:00:00.000-04:002014-06-29T10:00:00.816-04:00

Over the weekend, I was talking to an Armenian expert of Russia and Russian foreign policy. As I was explaining my research interests and dissertation topic - international communication, public diplomacy, Russian foreign policy - his initial response was slightly cold. "Ah, that's the American stuff. Russians are still working on it and are trying to figure out what their own approach should be

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-63051045564690344132014-06-19T07:38:00.000-04:002016-03-14T13:21:26.488-04:00

Before you read any further, I should probably highlight the disclaimer: this post - albeit related - is not only about the World Cup or Brazil's public diplomacy. Rather, I just wanted to share some observations on the subject while I was visiting Beirut, Lebanon last month. It so happened that I had the chance to spend a couple of weeks in Lebanon -- it was supposed to be more of a personal

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-43816720664704194272014-06-16T09:29:00.001-04:002014-06-16T09:44:33.353-04:00

About a week ago I had a post about the "popularity" of the State Dept's spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, in Russia. A friend notified me about further developments in that regard, so I thought I should have an update here, too: Psaki has become the subject of a satirical song by Murzilki International, a group of morning radio hosts on AvtoRadio, which has now "gone viral" on RuNet. The song is called "

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-85063750242601803412014-06-06T06:09:00.000-04:002014-06-06T08:52:45.503-04:00

Jen Psaki, the State Department Spokeswoman, is probably a little-known name in the US outside of Washington and the foreign policy circles. Her position, however, plays a key role for the US public diplomacy, as she is the person who usually takes on the international press corps - often single-handedly - serving as a mouthpiece of and representing the US foreign policy establishment. This

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-65177612638524711202014-05-07T09:37:00.000-04:002015-12-04T12:51:50.188-05:00

With the situation in Ukraine escalating and May 9 around the corner, it seems quite timely that the Russian Ministry of Defense released a new ad to get everyone pumped about the greatness of the Russian Armed Forces. Military service in Russia is still conscription-based, but the objective here is not recruitment -- rather grandeur, confidence, and pride (the Russian military has rarely been a

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-78608038864875647592014-04-23T16:09:00.000-04:002014-04-23T16:18:22.351-04:00

A few weeks ago I had a post about the "Happy Yerevan" video, made by the US Embassy in Armenia as a part of its digital public diplomacy effort. The video has been quite a hit: it's received almost 156,000 views in two weeks, and is now the most popular video on the Embassy's YouTube Channel (the second being the video of a 2012 "US-Armenia FlashMob", which has been viewed about 47,000 times

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-89721633228438821432014-04-22T04:00:00.000-04:002014-04-22T16:21:32.973-04:00

Russia's "identity crisis" has been much discussed (and lamented) since the demise of the Soviet Union, and caused confusion not just for public diplomacy and nation branding (What is the "image" that Russia wants foreign publics to have?), but also for its foreign policy strategy and priority-definition. Of course, analysis of the official discourse, as well as that of actual foreign policy

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-19923260078726154152014-04-10T22:40:00.000-04:002014-04-11T07:52:42.323-04:00

Voice of Russia, the one that was scrapped and will be incorporated into the new "Russia Today" news agency, had a mind-blowing piece today, titled: "Orwellian US propaganda tool VOA finished in Russia". It was basically a reflection-rant regarding the news that Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty will not see their contracts in Russia renewed after the current ones expire.

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-91575799744648395742014-04-08T11:50:00.002-04:002014-04-22T12:02:09.147-04:00

I've been covering quite grim subjects lately, so decided it's high time I share some smiles and happiness here, too. Here's a video the US Embassy in Armenia posted on its YouTube page just a few hours ago, produced in collaboration with the US Alumni Association of Armenia: It is, of course, yet another addition to the whole series of "Happy [fill in the blank]" videos, based on Pharrell

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-11487067417972510912014-04-08T03:30:00.000-04:002014-04-08T19:40:22.559-04:00

In my post last week, I started discussing the Russian understanding of soft power, particularly its conceptualization as "hegemony" and interference (usually American/Western). Yesterday, as the pro-Russian protesters in the Eastern city of Donetsk took over government buildings, declared independence, and requested that Putin send Russian peacekeepers, I decided to revisit this conversation and

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-19249520361534245942014-04-03T12:06:00.001-04:002014-04-08T08:43:18.656-04:00

"For Russia, soft power doesn’t have to mean being a softy." Reading the coverage of Russia and Ukraine over the past few months, one would think that whatever happened was a disaster for Russia's image and Russian "soft power" around the world. Yet, we need to get beyond that Western-centric view and look at public diplomacy writ large. Not only has Putin's popularity increased domestically 

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-48108345344926881752014-03-06T14:06:00.000-05:002014-03-06T14:06:39.355-05:00

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, RT -- and particularly RT America -- is facing tough times now, with reporters expressing their disagreement with their employer's editorial policies (and one even quitting) on air. Today, RT's Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan published an op-ed clarifying her stance and bashing the "mainstream media" for not asking the right questions and engaging in an "

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-62699241737795442212014-03-05T22:45:00.000-05:002014-03-06T11:37:17.310-05:00

A couple of days ago, RT America's "Breaking the Set" host, Abby Martin, made a big splash by openly criticizing Russia (and her own employer) for what's happening in Ukraine: Martin took a wise risk, and putting RT's management on the spot, essentially prevented her immediate dismissal. Instead, RT's Editor in Chief said, the network suggested that she be sent to Crimea, to see the

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-11003982300094659052014-02-25T19:44:00.002-05:002014-02-26T10:23:21.037-05:00

Last April, the Public and Cultural Diplomacy Forum at AU hosted an event on "Gastrodiplomacy", featuring an impressive panel of speakers on this intriguing subject. I was live-tweeting the event, when I started getting responses from some Armenian tweeps suggesting that I write something about the culinary question of the South Caucasus -- the dolma. Soon after, a friend pointed out that USC's

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-62898275824043472092014-02-08T22:19:00.001-05:002014-02-11T14:20:24.142-05:00

... it is truly a shame, because despite everything that has been, is, and will be wrong with the games [or Russia, in general], the celebration of the actual opening was certainly mesmerizing. No, I cannot even begin trying to unpack everything that took place, all the symbolism, the beauty and the creativity... you'll have to see the whole thing to truly appreciate it. But here's a sneak-peak.

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-7755369004402327802014-02-05T22:10:00.000-05:002014-02-06T10:25:57.299-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted the following piece by Russia Beyond The Headlines on Facebook voicing concern about the sexual connotations that could be read into it: "Olympic beauty: Sochi girls to meet world famous athletes." A Russian (female) friend was outraged at my direct and immediate association of something seemingly so innocuous with sex/prostitution. The issue however, is not just

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-8006234901250208302014-01-31T14:38:00.000-05:002014-01-31T14:38:30.851-05:00

Who said public diplomacy and charm offensives during the Olympic period are limited to the host? This time the update comes from the U.S. State Department itself. Uplifting music and diversity are yet again set to inspire wonder and awe.  Courtesy of Mr. McFaul. Very curious if the other MFAs will be following suit...

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-7296600078232817102014-01-19T10:25:00.001-05:002014-01-20T11:34:07.189-05:00

...and by "winter", I mean the Winter Olympics in Sochi. There are less than three weeks left. [I hear the fans of the "Game of Thrones" might have to wait a little longer.] And although every nation, small and big -- but especially big -- is gearing up to demonstrate to the world how much wonder and awe their very own athletes can inspire, the real charm offensive is expected to be put up by

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-71923337648214014382013-12-09T22:57:00.000-05:002013-12-10T11:44:46.588-05:00

Today, Russia-watchers woke up to the news that Putin has issued a decree ordering the dissolution of RIA Novosti and Voice of Russia, and establishing - instead - a new media giant to be called "Russia Today" [Rossiya Segodnya] (and this one is different and altogether separate from RT - the TV network - which initially started as "Russia Today" but later formally changed its name to "RT"). The

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-54607906072422899942013-09-19T22:33:00.001-04:002013-09-20T10:35:17.784-04:00

After Putin’s bashing op-ed in the New York Times last week, Senator McCain was so distressed, he decided he absolutely had to respond. I missed it somehow, but apparently, he threatened to publish his response in Pravda (because, just in case you didn’t know, Pravda is a widely-read and highly-regarded newspaper in Russia, as the New York Times is in the US. Or so he thinks..?). I was amused

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-89916349145962182892013-09-13T15:03:00.000-04:002013-09-13T15:03:20.975-04:00

So... as I predicted in my yesterday's post, Jon Stewart did really provide some awesome commentary on Syria, Obama's foreign policy, and Putin's op-ed. Sharing a short clip here, since I can't embed the full episode. But you can watch it in full here (and I highly recommend that you do). The Daily Show with Jon StewartGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook Enjoy!

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0