Humanitarian cooperation as an area of Russian foreign policy

The aim of this research is to systematize the discourse related to the interpretation of humanitarian cooperation as an area of Russian foreign policy. The term of humanitarian cooperation has been used in Russian foreign policy discourse since the first decade of the 21st century. The author consequently analyzes the interpretation of this area in Russia’s strategic foreign policy documents, as well as in Russia’s bilateral agreements with foreign partners, in the documents of international organizations and forums, where Russia carries out humanitarian exchanges with other countries, and in academic community. The research demonstrates that the interpretations of humanitarian cooperation differ from one source to another, both in strategic documents and in agreements with foreign partners. Furthermore, in bilateral and multilateral documents, the use of the term correlates with the subject of the agreements. The collocation of humanitarian cooperation is used in Russia’s agreements with its close neighbours from the Commonwealth of Independent States, due to the comprehensive character of the interaction, involving all possible aspects and exchanges between the societies at different levels, based on long-term historical ties. Meanwhile, the documents, signed with other foreign partners, usually concern the specific areas, e.g. culture, sport, tourism, etc. The lack of uniformity in legal discourse influences the Russian academic studies of humanitarian cooperation, as their terminology varies, and the interpretations frequently differ. Overall, in terms of methodology, the related discourse obviously requires more uniformity and precision.