Russia's so-called soft power instruments are aimed not only at young people, but also at minors in Europe. The Hello, Russia program, organized by the Russian state agency Rossotrudnichestvo, offers children and teenagers aged 14 to 19 weeks of all-expenses-paid trips to Russian cities, accompanied by patriotic events. The target audience is children with Russian roots who grew up abroad and speak Russian as a second native language. About a thousand young people from all over the world, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, take part in the program every year, according to Czech investigators from the Investigace project.

They found that the program includes visits to historical and cultural monuments of Russia, as well as elements of patriotic education. Young people take part in events honoring the memory of Soviet soldiers, visit museums dedicated to Russian history and weapons, and meet with religious figures promoting “traditional family values”. In addition to cultural activities, the program offers two specializations for older participants: media, where young people visit the editorial offices of state media, or history, where excursions are held to archives and scientific institutions. The main goal of the program is to strengthen ties between young people of Russian origin living abroad and Russia through cultural, historical, and patriotic measures to attract new generations to the idea of the “Russian world”.

The program is part of a broader Russian strategy to spread its influence abroad and strengthen pro-Russian sentiments among young people with Russian roots. Such initiatives help to form a positive image of Russia among young Europeans, even in the context of the country’s military aggression against Ukraine. The program is an example of using “soft power” to prepare a new generation to support Russian propaganda and the “traditional values” that Moscow promotes as an alternative to the “liberal Western world”. In this way, Russia also tries to legitimize its actions on the international stage by creating a network of young people who will support its policies and spread pro-Russian views in their countries.