RUSSIA’S NEW SOFT POWER: THE MIR CARD SYSTEM
Journal: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs Institute for Research and European Studies - Bitola
Year: 2020

After the onset of Western sanctions in 2014, the Russian National Card Payment System (NSPK) and its corresponding Mir bank cards launched the following year. Five years later, estimates show that 56 million people are using Mir cards, more than 20 percent of Russia’s bank card market and will be operational in twelve foreign countries. Traditionally, scholars have examined Russian soft power as aiming to integrate post-Soviet countries with Russia and Central Asian countries through promoting