1. To overcome the conceptual crisis of its foreign policy Russia should understand its national identity. Putting aside ridiculous attempts of our Liberals (who are, in fact, pseudo-Liberal successors of the Bolsheviks) to come into the world as some ‘white-and-fluffy’, sort of ‘new’ Russia that has been building up its statehood as if for just the last twenty years, Russia should unambiguously and undoubtedly define itself as the heiress to the historical - i.e. over-thousand-year-old - Russia. Clearly, if such is the case it has to undertake all its sins, including those made by the USSR. But then Russia is to remain the intelligible and recognizable subject of the world history.
2. Enhancing the foreign policy efficiency requires to pass a special law on the mechanism of development, adoption and implementation of foreign policy decisions that would provide for precise coordinating the activities of the ministries and bodies in this sphere under direct control by the RF President to ensure the Russian Federation’s single policy line in relations with other states and international organizations. Such a mechanism is to be of collective nature, involving all the foreign policy actors, and lean on analysis and expertise of the governmental and nongovernmental research centers that should be set up and funded generously.
3. As to Russia’s image abroad, it, certainly, needs to be improved. But, at that, this has to be kept in mind: whatever efforts were undertaken, whatever funding for the purpose were allocated, all those PR-energies would be wasted, if there were no improvements inside the country. One simple thing has to be understood: to have good image abroad the country has to really be an attractive, not to appear to be such. Hence, the field of correcting the image is not outside our country, but at home. As a wise proverb says, The wolf may change his coat, but not his disposition.