Russian Soft Power in Africa, Asia & the Middle East - Vladimir Liparteliani | Ep. 9 (2026)

About this episode

Vladimir Liparteliani discusses the mechanisms of Russian soft power and its influence in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East despite sanctions.

How does a country under heavy sanctions continue to win influence across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia? In this episode, Vladimir Liparteliani unpacks the full machinery of Russian soft power — from RT and Sputnik to educational diplomacy, cultural outreach, and religious projection. Vladimir Liparteliani is an associate fellow at the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Durham University. As a scholar of international relations, he focuses on soft power and international power competition in the post-Soviet space. Selected Publications: Soft Power Competition Between Russia and the West: Contesting Georgian National Identity, 1991–2024 The Art of Subtle Influence: Russian Soft Power and Georgia’s Conservative Turn Content 00:00 — Introduction 01:37 — Conceptualising Russian Soft Power: Beyond Nye’s Classical Framework 05:58 — Russian Scholarly Perspectives on Soft Power 07:10 — Soft Power, Strategic Communication, and Influence Operations in Russian Foreign Policy 08:42 — Strategic Ambiguity: The ‘Blurriness’ of Russian Soft Power 09:23 — Great Power Identity and the Logic of Russian Soft Power 11:53 — Soviet Legacies and Their Influence on Contemporary Russian Soft…

People in this episode

Host: Martin Zubko

Guest: Vladimir Liparteliani

Topics covered

• Russian soft power
• international relations
• influence operations
• educational diplomacy
• cultural outreach
• strategic communication

Keywords

• Russian soft power
• influence
• sanctions
• educational diplomacy
• cultural outreach
• international broadcasting
• RT
• Sputnik

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Durham University, RT, Sputnik

Books & works: Soft Power Competition Between Russia and the West: Contesting Georgian National Identity, 1991–2024, The Art of Subtle Influence: Russian Soft Power and Georgia’s Conservative Turn

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