Russia

24 September 2012

 

 
 
 
 
Cultural relations reaches people in ways and places that traditional diplomacy cannot
  • Cultural relationships create links between people in the UK and around the world, building trust. Trust is fundamental in the success of political and commercial relationship
  • Mutual appreciation of each other’s cultures increases the likelihood that people in Russia will enter into business relationships with the UK, study in or visit the UK
  • Culture and the arts can improve relationships between people in Russia and the UK in ways which go beyond conventional state diplomacy
Working with millions of Russians
  • There is a strong demand for our programmes in English, arts and education from the Russian authorities and from the Russian cultural sector 
  • We work with millions of Russians, including many of the most influential people, addressing issues of current concern: economic opportunity through English, creative industries and higher education opportunities
  • With  digital and social networking, we can reach participants beyond our sole physical premises in Moscow
 
Benefit to UK prosperity and growth
  • We generate direct economic benefits via student recruitment to UK colleges and universities, and promotion of the UK cultural and creative sector
  • British Council programmes in Russia support trade, investment and tourism
FACTS
 
Our work has been directly cited by the Russian President Medvedev as making a positive contribution to the relationship with the UK.
 
Last year, we reached 5.5 million Russians and plan to reach more than six million this year. 
 
The number of Russian students in UK higher education has risen by 63% over five years, totalling 3,385 in 2009-10 (equivalent to a contribution of approximately £85 million to the UK economy).  In the UK’s independent schools, Russian students constitute 5% of total enrolments. 
 
In collaboration with Russia’s 200,000 English language teachers, policy-makers and other professionals, we work to improve the quality of English teaching – particularly in the state sector, where English is taught to an estimated 15 million children in more than 60,000 schools.
 
Last year, our education specialists trained 3,000 language teachers, while our Teaching English website attracted 60,000 users.
 
In the arts, we focus on high-impact events, such as exhibitions of work by Antony Gormley at the Hermitage (projected to attract more than 200,000 visitors) and of Henry Moore sculptures at the Kremlin Museums in 2012.
 
We co-ordinated the Russia Market Focus at the 2011 London Book Fair, as well as the unveiling of a statue of Yuri Gagarin in London in July 2011.