The Foreign Ministry is taking steps to expand its online presence, with plans to open a Facebook account and increase the number of its Twitter feeds.
The Foreign Ministry's move to attract online followers comes after President Vladimir Putin met last week with top diplomats and called on them to take up new approaches to transmit the government's message.
“You must explain our points of view again and again, on various platforms and using new technologies until the message gets across,” Putin said, according to an official present at the meeting, Kommersant reported.
The Foreign Ministry is working on creating a Facebook page and wants to increase diplomats' use of Twitter, a ministry official told the business daily. The ministry currently has more than 40 Twitter accounts and has told embassies to create more.
On July 7, the ministry launched a dedicated YouTube account, where users can watch the latest news briefings, interviews and television appearances by prominent diplomats.
Several high-ranking Foreign Ministry officials, such as Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov and Ambassador to Britain Alexander Yakovenko, are already active on social-networking sites.
But with roughly 2,500 followers between them, their popularity on social media pales in comparison to that of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who has more than 1 million followers, and Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, whose tweets are read by close to 150,000 accounts.
In an Agence France Press ranking [http://ediplomacy.afp.com/#!/countries] updated daily, Russia on Monday stood in 14th place out of 146 countries for the effectiveness of its e-diplomacy, with 2.64 million people reading Russian diplomats' blogs.
The United States ranked first, with almost 44 million people following U.S. diplomats' online comments. Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Britain and Japan also featured in the top 10.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
