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Russia Turns to Theater to Build Global Influence Network Among Foreign Actors
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Russia has announced a recruitment campaign in Moscow inviting foreign participants to join a theater arts internship program targeting students of film and drama schools, as well as young actors from BRICS+ countries .
This was reported by the Center Countering Disinformation on March 17.
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The initiative is officially presented as a cultural and educational exchange. However, analysts say similar programs form part of Russia’s broader strategy to expand its influence abroad through cultural channels.
The involvement of Rossotrudnichestvo, a state agency responsible for promoting Russian influence overseas, and funding linked to the Presidential Grants Foundation point to the program’s institutional backing. Both entities are closely tied to the Kremlin’s foreign outreach efforts.
Theater has long been used by Russia as a tool of so-called “soft power,” with authorities seeking to shape a favorable image of the country internationally through cultural engagement.
“Participation in such programs allows Russia to create networks of loyal contacts in the cultural environment of other countries. Thus, internships for foreign actors can become a propaganda tool aimed at expanding russian influence in the world,” the center added.
Meanwhile, cultural venues around the world continue to stage Russian operas, plays, and concerts despite the ongoing fighting and documented atrocities. Productions such as Eugene Onegin at Teatro alla Scala, Three Sisters at Shakespeare’s Globe, and Uncle Vanya at Berkeley Rep remain in repertory, and calls to cancel them are often met with resistance, while Ukrainian critics are sometimes portrayed as politicizing culture.
In response, in 2025, UNITED24 launched a campaign marking the anniversary of the March 16, 2022 bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theater, aiming to draw attention to how Russian culture can be used to distract from the realities of the war. The campaign visuals, shown in Europe and abroad, depict a theatrical character sweeping away the ruins of the destroyed Mariupol theater marked with the word “ДЕТИ” (“children”), recalling the sign placed outside the building before it was bombed.
Actress Tetiana Mikhina, who took part in the project, said the message is meant to remind audiences that cultural events cannot be separated from the actions of the Russian state. “Every time a ticket to a Russian performance is bought, Russian crimes in Ukraine are normalized—or even supported,” she said.
Similar debates have recently emerged in the United Kingdom, where references to Russian cultural events have also drawn criticism.
In February, organizers of a musical event at King’s College London removed a reference to the Russian Kalinka festival from the program after Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised concerns.
In it’s statement, the ministry said the Ukrainian Embassy in London had contacted the organizers, stressing that promoting a Russian festival is inappropriate while Russia continues its full-scale war against Ukraine.
King’s College later explained that the reference to the Kalinka festival appeared in the retrospective section of the anniversary program and referred to an event held in 2014 dedicated to Russian music. A spokesperson for the university apologized for the misunderstanding and said all digital materials would be updated to remove the mention.
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