ABSTRACT
The fourth chapter starts with a description of the method used to reconstruct the mission narrative (a mission narrative is a narrative containing mission-related motifs). It is followed by an overview of the contemporary mission narrative in Russia’s foreign policy. The main themes and the narrative entrepreneurs are described. The case of the Soviet victory in the Second World War is used to highlight the main features of the contemporary mission narrative: its secular character, its role as a source of the Russian sense of exceptionality, moral superiority and the universalism of Russia’s calling. Fifteen types of mission which Russia’s contemporary elite assigns to their country have been identified. They include bridge, moderator of dialogue, guardian of justice, balance bringer, patron of our kin, defender of faith and values, maker of russkiy mir, custodian of Europe, mission in Eurasia, contributor to world civilisation, keeper of historical truth, provider and also modernisation of Russia and preserving Russian civilisation. Mission in foreign policy is above all an attribute of a state and its international activity. This is one of the most notable differences between the contemporary and the traditional mission narratives and illustrates the secularisation of this specific narrative.
