99 https://doi.org/10.26593/jihi.v18i2.4754.99-110 Uncovering the Impact of Festival Indonesia on Russia Towards Indonesia Achmad Ismail 1 , Darynaufal Mulyaman 2 , Rendy Sarudin 3 1 Study Program of International Relations, University of Jakarta, Indonesia ismailachmad@rocketmail.com 2 Study Program of International Relations, Universitas of Kristen Indonesia darynaufal.mulyaman@uki.ac.id 3 Study Program of Hospitality Tourism & Tourism Management, University of Bunda Mulia, Indonesia rendysarudin88@gmail.com ABSTRACT Indonesia respectfully establishes good relations with Russia to get more benefits, such as tourism, culture, economy, and so on. Festival Indonesia is one of the instruments imposed and utilized by the Indonesian government to achieve Indonesia's economic interests in Russia. This article aims to explain the positive impact of Festival Indonesia as a form of Indonesian public diplomacy and economic diplomacy as well as a powerful instrument of Indonesian soft power. This article uses the soft power theory of Joseph Nye and the concept of public diplomacy as an analytical tool with qualitative research methods. This article concludes that the presence of Festival Indonesia as Indonesia's soft power through public diplomacy has a positive impact on Indonesia's positive image towards Russian citizens which leads to an increase in Russian tourists to Indonesia, an increase in sister city cooperation, and cooperation in other fields. Keywords: Russia, Indonesia, Festival Indonesia, Soft Power, Public Diplomacy ABSTRAK Indonesia dengan hormat menjalin hubungan baik dengan Rusia untuk mendapatkan lebih banyak manfaat, seperti sektor pariwisata, budaya, perekonomian dan sebagainya. Festival Indonesia merupakan salah satu instrumen yang diberlakukan dan dimanfaatkan oleh pemerintah Indonesia untuk mencapai kepentingan ekonomi Indonesia di Rusia. Artikel ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan bahwa dampak positif acara Festival Indonesia sebagai wujud dari diplomasi publik serta diplomasi ekonomi Indonesia sekaligus instrumen yang ampuh dari soft power Indonesia. Artikel ini menggunakan teori soft power dari Joseph Nye serta konsep diplomasi publik sebagai alat analisisnya disertai metode penelitian kualitatif. Artikel ini berkesimpulan bahwa hadirnya Festival Indonesia sebagai soft power Indonesia melalui diplomasi publik berdampak positif terhadap citra positif Indonesia terhadap warga negara Rusia yang berujung pada peningkatan wisatawan Rusia ke Indonesia, peningkatan kerjasama sister city serta kerjasama-kerjasama di bidang lainnya. Kata Kunci: Rusia, Indonesia, Festival Indonesia, Soft Power, Diplomasi Publik Introduction Every year the tourism sector shows a positive trend. Data sourced from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) notes that in the last 10 years since 2009 there were around 892 million foreign tourist arrivals and this increased in 2019 with around 1,461 foreign tourist arrivals. 1 Based on data from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy's 2020 Outlook, describes that the tourism sector has contributed 4,8% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and reached IDR 280 trillion of foreign exchange. Seeing the growth from year to year, the government set targets 1 United Nations World Tourism Organization, “HEALING SOLUTIONS FOR TOURISM CHALLENGE,” unwto.org, 2020, https://www.unwto.org/healing-solutions-tourismchallenge.