RUSYA FEDERASYONU DIŞ POLİTİKASINDA 'RUS DİASPORASI' OLGUSU.

Diaspora, which generally means the place where any nation or members of faith live as a minority outside their home country and the branch of any nation separated from its homeland, has been an important instrument of influence in the foreign policies of states since the 20th century. The Russian diaspora, whose population is estimated to be between 20 and 30 million in the world, is also included in this group. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the direction of the Russian Federation towards the West, the Yeltsin administration did not initially want to raise issues related to the Russian diaspora, but made the protection of the rights of the Russian diaspora one of the priorities of the Russian diaspora. In this context, the Russian diaspora, which has maintained its position in the RF foreign policy since the end of 1992 and whose conceptual, geographical and legal scope has been expanded in this process serves as an important instrument and basis for the realization of the foreign policy aims of the RF to contribute to the soft power and public diplomacy through the activities of the promotion of Russian language and culture in the world and the establishment of a positive image of the RF and to maintain its own sphere of influence by influencing the foreign policies of the states in post-Soviet geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]