Putting tatars on the map: The place branding versus soft power of Tatarstan

This article investigates one of the most relevant cases of Place Branding within the Russian Federation and provides a review of different efforts developed by the Republic of Tatarstan government to position itself in the global scene, to ‘put Tatars on the map’. Place Branding and Marketing initiatives such as ‘Invest in Tatarstan’, ‘Made in Tatarstan’, ‘Visit Tatarstan’ and the emergence of Kazan, Tatarstan’s capital, as ‘Sports Capital of Russia’ have been crucial tools for identifying and highlighting Tatarstan’s geographical location, promoting its economic potential and increasing the number of tourists to the Republic. It has helped to increase awareness among business and industry circles, sport fans and tourists worldwide. However, the Republic is facing deeper political challenges, including the alarming situation of the decreasing number of native speakers of the Tatar language, which might even bring into question the nation’s long-term future. Could the soft way be a constructive and effective alternative strategy? Could Soft Power be introduced to ‘win hearts and minds’ of the international community, and even Tatarstan’s own inhabitants by introducing alternative values based on political tolerance, by further applying Tatarstan’s culture as a Soft Power tool, using movies/films, museums, education and the media? This paper investigates a scarcely studied subject, namely Tatarstan’s tools of Place Branding, and indicates the potential influence of Tatarstan applying Soft Power.