International humanitarian cooperation is one of the ways for Russia to propagate its interests abroad and maintain its image of a modern democratic state in front of the world community. The article discloses the multichannel implementation of Russia’s “soft power” potential, shows the necessity of a systemic organization of international humanitarian links, proposes the grouping of the implementation mechanisms of Russia’s potential “soft power“into program and extracurricular blocs.

The object of the analysis is internationally recognized mechanisms of forming interstate programs, international projects of different scale, and activities involving all bodies of state power, numerous non-government corporations and organizations.

The subject of the analysis is the experience of organizing and managing such programs within CIS and EurAsEC.

The authors present the action algorithms of administration bodies and states-participants of such programs; analyze and assess methodological, organizational and financial aspects of the formation and implementation of interstate programs and projects; reveal shortcomings in the existing methods to form and implement international programs and projects in the CIS space, which make an effective implementation of such programs difficult; substantiate the scheme for managing the interstate program of innovation cooperation between CIS states-participants that provides for setting up and using new institutes and infrastructure for the interstate cooperation in the humanitarian field. The article concludes and recommends by proposing measures to improve the mechanisms of managing international humanitarian cooperation in Russia and interstate programs that take into account the best practices of the leading foreign countries.