Russian digital diplomacy in Syria: development prospects

The study analyzes the means of digital diplomacy used by the Russian Embassy in the Syrian Arab Republic. The author highlights the following drawbacks to using the Internet and social networks that can be observed in the work of Russian diplomats with the Arabic-speaking target audience: an insufficient number of messages and informational materials in Arabic, their limited content and diversity, slow publication. The research emphasizes the need to fully apply the whole range of available digital tools to secure Russia’s national interests in Syria and the Arab world. The author concludes that the cooperation of the Arab-world experts and IT specialists with Russian embassies can provide speed, openness, and competitiveness of informational content and therefore contribute to the creation of an alternative source of information that could attract the Arabic-speaking audience and increase their support of Russia in the region.