Watch Russia now has a fully fledged Arabic version of its website. Arabic joins Russian and English, offering another perspective on contemporary Russia and another opportunity for a direct conversation with the world
Watch Russia tells the story of Russia through its people, places and the things created here. Through its culture and land, entrepreneurs and artists, cities and routes, design, hospitality and the initiatives that are transforming their surroundings. Now this conversation continues in Arabic as well.
The Arabic edition of Watch Russia is neither a separate project nor a special selection of material about Russian-Arab relations. It is a fully fledged part of the publication, with the same core sections, protagonists, stories, places and themes that shape our editorial portrait of contemporary Russia.
Yet a new language inevitably shifts one’s perspective. Which places in Russia hold particular appeal for visitors from the Middle East? What catches them off guard? Where do our cultural codes intersect? What opportunities are opening up for tourism, business, education and cultural exchange? These questions have already become part of Watch Russia’s editorial agenda.
“The growing interest in Russia from the Gulf states has been an important impetus for us, but the Arabic edition of Watch Russia is far more than a response to tourist demand. Russian-Arab relations have today reached a new level of strategic trust, and we want to help tourists, entrepreneurs, investors, and cultural and educational institutions understand one another better. Our aim is to show an Arabic audience contemporary Russia while simultaneously creating a space for dialogue between Russian projects and the Arab world,” says Natalia Shastik, editor-in-chief of Watch Russia.
The first step was the Russian-Arabic print edition, presented in the summer of 2026. In it, we discussed the new architecture of relations between Russia and the Arab world, travel, hospitality, medical tourism, art and how two cultures are coming to know one another. Now Arabic is becoming part of Watch Russia’s digital life.
For the magazine, this is a natural extension of the idea behind the project’s relaunch: to look at Russia not only from within, but also through the eyes of those who come here, who work with Russia, who are discovering it for themselves and wish to understand it better.
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