‘SOFT POWER’ OF THE RUSSIAN HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR INTEGRATING CENTRAL ASIAN MIGRANTS

“Soft power” is an effective instrument for dismantling negative stereotypes and forming a positive image of the country. The policy of attracting foreign students is implemented in Russia with a view to this fact, though the development of educational projects runs into difficulties related to the existence of cultural barriers between countries and nations. In the present article, we tried to identify the “soft power” potential of the Russian system of higher education in the processes of external migration. Russia, as well as other countries, is interested in receiving “quality” migrants. Educational migration is one of the forms of migration from Central Asia to Russia that facilitates the process of cultural adaptation of migrants with the help of the “soft power” technologies. This is a relevant area of study, as the experts note the problem of decreasing interest towards learning Russian in the countries of Central Asia, as well as the problem of decreasing cultural and educational presence of Russia in this region. At the same time, according to the official statistics in 2016 the countries of Central Asia brought 42% of migrants to Russia. The host community in Russia still has not demonstrated a completely open attitude towards migrants from these countries. Our studies have shown that cultural differences often underlie the barriers for constructive interaction. In higher school, international students practically adopt the cultural competencies of the host country. In the student years, young people are shaping their worldview, forming their values and opinions. International students acquire a valuable social capital; whether they stay in Russia or come back home with a wealth of new knowledge, contacts and friends, they usually become effective conductors of the language and culture of the country where they studied. In the present article, on the basis of the materials of a standardized interview (N 231) and in-depth interviews (N 16) with the migrants from Central Asia, carried out by the authors in 2016-2017 in Ekaterinburg (Russia), the authors analyze the attitudes of migrants who came to Russia to study towards Russian culture and citizens of Ekaterinburg, as well as the degree of their readiness to change their cultural habits. Based on the data obtained, the conclusion about the possibility of their integration with the host community is drawn.