Embracing the Avant Garde in Russia Tourism brand

A country on a geographical scale so vast, with landscape so unique it could be its own continent, Russia has fascinated politicians, tourists, and academics for centuries. From revolutions to sporting competitions to paradigmatic architecture to literature, Russia’s 145 million inhabitants and diverse landscape continually offer the world something new.

How Russia should communicate its seemingly infinite cultural offering to a global audience, while encouraging tourism in its more isolated regions, is an ongoing debate. With such regional variations, and mixture of dialects and ways of life, a country brand was needed to encapsulate what makes Russia unique. Through a new logo and brand campaign that represents each Russian region and major cultural highlights, Russia Tourism achieves its aim.

The Russia Tourism design is the result of a competition launched in 2015 as a joint enterprise between the Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation and the Association of Branding Companies of Russia. Designed as a collaboration between designers Vladimir Lifanov of branding agency Suprematika, Ilya Lazuchenkov and Yegor Mysnik of branding agency Plenum, Denis Schlesberg of branding agency Artonika and Erken Kagarov of Lebedev Studio, the Avant Garde design aims to reflect the Russia known by true Russians. In doing so, it moves away from the clichés which are so often integrated into new country brands. Indeed, where its imagery works to reflect culture on a global scale, the tagline ‘The whole world within Russia’ displays the country’s global credentials.

Despite its seeming complexity, in application the Russia Tourism logo is imminently flexible. Based on the concepts of suprematism, a direction of the Russian avant garde art movement popular in the early 20^th century, its colourful block shapes work to fit in whichever influence is necessary. According to the Russia Tourism website, for the purposes of its new country brand, this is mostly reflectives of Russian culture, national cuisine and nature – abundant in the array of landscapes the country harbours. “The graphic solution of the brand is a stylised map of Russia,” says Russia Tourism. “The elements from which it is collected denote the points and territories of our Motherland, conveying its character convincingly and accessible.”

The logo is also influenced by football given Russia's imminent hosting of the world cup, as well as the sport’s ability to unite a country often geographically and culturally divided. “In 2018, Russia will host the World Cup in football,” says Russia Tourism’s brand’s website. “For the first time it will cover at once two parts of the world – Europe and Asia. A football event of this magnitude is held by our country for the first time. In 11 Russian cities, new football arenas will be welcomed by fans from all over the world. No doubt, Russia is expecting a big sports festival, which will be remembered for a long time.”

Where Russia’s more European cities, for example Moscow and St Petersburg, are generally considered bastions of culture and democracy and therefore attract tourists in droves, Russia Tourism hope to highlight other, oft-forgotten parts of the great country. This includes subdivisions with a clearly Asiatic influence – regions such as Krasnoyarsk, Sakha and Komi. All offer a uniquely cultural Russian experience; all should benefit from the bold, fearless and heritage-laden Avant Garde identity created by Lifanov, Lazuchenkov, Mysnik, Schlesberg and Kagarov.

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