Confucius Institute in St Petersburgas a Soft Power Tool in the Context of the “One Belt, One Road” Initiative
In today’s world, the process of global economic integration has accelerated, and the integration of the world’s countries in the political, economic and cultural fields has further deepened. Language is not only a tool of communication that allows countries to understand each other, but also an important component of national “soft power”. Today, “soft power” is increasingly included in the foreign policy strategies of states, which has a positive impact on their internal development and contributes to the spread of their influence on other countries. As the Chinese language and culture become more and more popular abroad, interest in the Chinese language is growing among Russians as well. The promotion of Chinese culture and language in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city and the center of the western part of the country, is especially important. The Confucius Institute in St. Petersburg was chosen for this work. Based on a theoretical analysis of the concept of soft power, the article begins with the Confucius Institute as a tool for developing soft power. It analyzes the opportunities and challenges facing the Confucius Institute in St. Petersburg through case method, comparative analysis, and literature search, and then suggests countermeasures for the Confucius Institute’s intercultural communication in countries along the “One Belt, One Road”. From this the author concludes that the success of the Confucius Institute in St. Petersburg is inseparable from the political, economic and cultural support of Russia and China, but its development is also accompanied by problems in systems and politics.