The "Russkiy Mir"

In his speech on March 18, Vladimir Putin made it clear that Russia will intervene to "protect" the interests of ethnic Russians and Russian-speakers around the globe, wherever they may live.

This policy is known as the "Russkiy Mir", or Russian World, and it is the continuation of a project that was launched in 2007, with the establishment of the global Russkiy Mir Foundation:

a Russian soft power initiative created by decree by Vladimir Putin in 2007, as a government-funded organisation aimed at promoting the Russian language, and "forming the Russian World as a global project", co-operating with the Russian Orthodox Church in promoting values that challenge the Western cultural tradition.