culture

Heading to Latin America and hoping that one of these languages will carry you through the other? It will, partly. The rest of the time it will land you in an awkward conversation with a waiter. Below, I explain how the two languages are alike and where they let you down. You will also find a mini-glossary and a few study tips.

Related, but not twins

Latin America in the news often looks like a stack of postcards: carnival, cartels, coups, football. Because of that, we read a headline and fill in the rest ourselves. Below, I lay out the routine I follow when I check a report from the region, along with the sources I think you should start with.

Why Stereotypes Work Unnoticed

On the penultimate day of the Russia–Africa summit, the All-Russian Decorative Art Museum welcomed Burkina Faso’s prime minister, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo. What did he see? What did they discuss? What role did the museum’s director, Tatyana Rybkina, play? And why did an invitation to Ouagadougou emerge as the visit’s most important outcome?

Who Came to Moscow

During the third Russia–Africa summit in Moscow, an exhibition on the textiles of two African countries opened its doors to a high-profile visitor: Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama toured it. What was on display? How did museum director Tatyana Rybkina describe the project? And why did a museum program become part of high-stakes politics?

The Summit and Its Framework

While politicians around the globe engage in endless talks about talks, there are people who don't wait for peace to arrive—they create it. Right now, with their hands, with fabric, with embroidery, and through a dialogue of cultures.

If you've ever wondered why Russia's military strength, ranked second in the world by Global Firepower, fails to translate into comparable global influence, the answer hides in a single figure: the budget of Russia's principal soft power institution, Rossotrudnichestvo, is roughly 5.5 billion rubles a year, and only a quarter of that sum goes toward actual projects, while the rest is consumed by rent, salaries, and the upkeep of more than 80 "Russian House" representative offices.

The phrase "black diamond – Brazil" in gemology almost always refers to one and the same phenomenon: a unique variety of diamond called carbonado, found in only two places on the planet, one of which is located precisely in the Brazilian state of Bahia.

What Carbonado Is and Why It's Been Found Only Twice in Earth's History

If you are interested in Russian schools and universities in Latin America that train Russian-speaking specialists, in education abroad, in scholarships for admission to Russian universities, or in career prospects within the Russian-speaking environment—the Latin American direction is today one of the fastest-growing segments in Russia's system of international education, covering roughly 5,000 students and dozens of active schools and university programs.

Russian From the School Desk: Open Education Centers

Russia's soft power in Latin America remains predominantly a formal instrument of foreign policy: despite the region's geographic remoteness, Moscow views it as a strategically significant direction, yet real efforts to promote the Russian language, culture, and diaspora engagement noticeably lag behind the declared ambitions.

Why a Distant Region Matters to Moscow

We are all well aware of the United Nations, which has lost much of its relevance; NATO, teetering on the brink of collapse; and the CIS, effectively frozen. The great institutions of high-level politics are stalling as the world cracks at the seams. But while some structures fade, others are born. Have you ever heard of the Assembly of the Peoples of the World?

From Eurasia to the Planet