Transforming the Perception of the Russian Arctic among Chinese University Students: The Potential of Language Courses

<jats:p>In the context of aligning development strategies for the Northern Sea Route and China’s “Polar Silk Road” initiative, the humanitarian dimension of the bilateral partnership has become an imperative. The article explores the potential of short-term intensive educational programs as a “soft power” tool aimed at bridging the cognitive gap in the perception of the Russian Arctic among Chinese students. The study aims to assess the effectiveness of these formats in transforming the regional image and establishing a system of verified knowledge about the Arctic among PRC citizens. The study was conducted within the framework of a qualitative case study methodology. The materials were collected during a summer school of the Russian language and culture held at the Northern (Arctic) Federal University. Data collection was carried out in two stages across three thematic blocks: physical-geographical, historical-cultural, and geopolitical. Additionally, a psycholinguistic association experiment was used to identify latent shifts in perception. The university’s educational environment was regarded as a controlled experimental base for evaluating the effectiveness of educational diplomacy tools; the study was conducted in accordance with ethical standards of voluntary participation and data depersonalization. The results indicate an increase in respondent awareness from 32% to 79% and a qualitative shift in the associative field: moving from environmental stereotypes to an understanding of the region’s geo-economic and technological uniqueness. The practical significance of the work lies in the verification of educational diplomacy as an effective mechanism for developing a pool of loyal international experts.</jats:p>