Cool job: the first Russian-standard school will open in Laos
Moscow is strengthening its influence abroad through humanitarian projects. The first school operating according to Russian standards of education will open in Laos for 1,2 thousand students, the Russian Embassy in the republic told Izvestia. The project can become one of the key educational hubs in the region. It has already received a powerful boost at the last Russia—ASEAN summit in Kazan, where the leaders of the countries confirmed their policy of rapprochement. Following the CIS, Syria and Egypt, Moscow is actively developing educational diplomacy in Southeast Asia. With whom Russia has to compete for humanitarian influence in the region — in the Izvestia article.
How the Russian Federation opens schools abroad
Russia is successfully promoting its education abroad. The design of the first Russian school, which will be able to accommodate more than a thousand students, has already begun in Laos, the Russian Embassy in the country told Izvestia.
— The Lao city authorities have allocated a plot of land for the implementation of this project, and Russian specialists are currently developing estimates and a detailed construction plan. According to preliminary information, the school will accommodate about 1,200 students, and the educational program will be based on Russian educational standards," the diplomatic mission explained.
Experts believe that with stable cooperation with Vientiane, Lao schoolchildren will be able to enroll in leading Russian universities after graduation without wasting a year on preparatory language courses. Similar programs operate, for example, in Indonesia and Cambodia.
— In my opinion, getting a school education according to Russian standards can give them an advantage over students from other countries who received primary education at home and came to Russia for higher education. And the advantage here will be not only in knowledge of the language, but also in understanding other disciplines, both humanitarian and technical," Grigory Kucherenko, a junior researcher at the Sector of New Challenges in South and Southeast Asia at the IMEMO RAS, told Izvestia.
The main preference is easier and faster access to Russian higher education, confirms Elena Polltsina, senior researcher at the Center for Vietnam and ASEAN Studies at the ICSA RAS.
— Moreover, learning Russian from school will already determine the choice and goals of parents and children about further education. It is unlikely that children will leave for the West after this school," the expert said.
The construction of the first Russian school clearly confirmed the close ties between Moscow and Vientiane. At the Russia–ASEAN summit in Kazan, Vladimir Putin said that Russia highly values relations with Laos, which are "traditionally based on friendship, mutual respect and consideration of each other's interests." An important outcome of the bilateral deal was an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation on peaceful nuclear energy, which paves the way for the construction of a small nuclear power plant in Laos.
At the same time, it is important that the construction of a school in Vientiane is not some random initiative, but part of a large—scale Russian state strategy to promote its education abroad. A strong foundation has already been laid in Central Asia. For example, in Tajikistan, a network of five modern Russian schools is successfully operating in the country's largest cities, including Dushanbe and Khujand. Each one is designed for more than 1,200 students, and the competition for a place in the classes is breaking all records. Currently, a year—round center for gifted children named after Academician Vavilov is being designed in Dushanbe, an analogue of the Sochi Sirius. Russia has allocated about 4 billion rubles for it.
Moscow is implementing a similar ambitious project in Kyrgyzstan, where nine Russian-language schools will gradually appear in all regions of the republic. The first of them have already been commissioned, and graduates of these institutions will receive double certificates recognized in both Bishkek and Moscow. At the same time, Russia is actively negotiating the launch of similar schools with the authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The geography has only been expanding in recent years. In the Middle East, the flagship project should be the construction of Russian schools in Syria, where demand for learning Russian is traditionally high, as well as the creation of educational hubs in Africa, primarily in Egypt. In all these countries, Russia operates according to a proven pattern: it takes over financing, design and methodological framework, while the host country allocates land and ensures security. This approach allows Moscow not only to export its educational standards, but also to form a long-term and loyal humanitarian ecosystem around new schools.
Russia's "Soft Power" in Southeast Asia
For a long time, Moscow's position in Southeast Asia was based primarily on Soviet nostalgic heritage and military-technical cooperation. Russia skillfully uses "memory diplomacy", appealing to the Soviet support for anti-colonial movements in Vietnam, Laos and Indonesia, as well as to the fact that, unlike Western powers, the Russian Federation has never been a colonial force in the region, Elena Polltsina draws attention.
Today, Russia is trying to shape a new, comprehensive humanitarian agenda, where education is closely intertwined with culture, creative industries, and technology.
Russian influence in the region is based on a wide network of Russian homes in Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia. They regularly organize lectures, seminars, and other events on history, education, science, and literature. Learning the Russian language is also important — special courses are organized for everyone. Russian Houses also participate in university-to-university exchanges, inviting hundreds of international students to study in Russia.
Moscow, of course, has competitors in terms of "soft power." Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had no time to return from his May trip to Paris when the republic announced the introduction of the French language at all levels of school education. And last year, he gave a similar instruction on teaching Portuguese after talks with the President of Brazil.
There were similar intentions regarding the Russian language. But its mass implementation in a country with a population of almost 280 million people is an order of magnitude more difficult, and its solution would require thousands of qualified Russian language teachers, who simply do not exist, Pyltsina notes.
However, the very idea of using French aroused skepticism among Indonesian teachers and lawmakers, who called it a "diplomatic courtesy" without a clear implementation plan, she added.
Nevertheless, France, as well as the United States, China and Japan still have much more influence on the Southeast Asian states than Russia, Grigory Kucherenko believes.
— Washington remains the most successful actor of "soft power": its influence on the Philippines, for example, is difficult to underestimate. The younger generations in different countries of the region are primarily taught English. China, on the other hand, strives to spread its culture through language teaching at Confucius institutes and other methods — we are lagging behind in this regard. This does not mean that we have nothing to answer at all — we need to objectively assess the situation and act more actively," he told Izvestia.
So far, classical Russian art remains the basis of cultural exports, which is traditionally perceived in Asia as an unsurpassed standard. Ballet, academic vocal, and painting classes are being opened on the basis of Russian houses, and for the emerging Asian middle class, such education for children has become a sign of high social status and prestige. The regular tours of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theaters in Hanoi or Bangkok invariably attract full houses.
In parallel with the classics, modern Russian creative content is actively entering the Asian market. Russian animation has made a real breakthrough in the ASEAN countries: animated series like Masha and the Bear or Smesharikov are among the top most recognizable foreign children's brands, forming the first positive associations with Russia among millions of young viewers.
But still, it is difficult to compete with the mass appeal of, for example, South Korean K-pop, Japanese pop culture or Western media, Pollcina emphasizes. RT does not broadcast in any local language and is significantly inferior in coverage to the BBC, CNN and even the Chinese CGTN. Therefore, Russian language learning programs, scholarships for ASEAN students, and joint cultural projects are key tools for the Russian Federation.
Thus, in the context of fierce rivalry between the United States and China in the Asia-Pacific region, Moscow operates through the tools of "soft power": Russia does not impose political conditions, but offers high-quality knowledge and high culture, investing in new generations of the local elite.
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