Intervision as Kremlin Soft Power

Moscow has revived the Intervision Song Contest by presidential decree, inviting 'friendly' states (e.g., China, India, Serbia, Cuba) as an alternative to Eurovision, which banned Russia. Framed around 'traditional values,' the platform aims to knit cultural ties and signal leadership within a multipolar, non‑Western bloc. It is a deliberate soft‑power move to blunt Western isolation after the Ukraine invasion. — It shows how states can use entertainment infrastructures to realign geopolitics, suggesting sanctions and ostracism can be countered with parallel cultural systems.