Russia's contemporary impact on art, exhibition practice and museum work is a subject of intensive scientific discussion today, as it reflects the country's status not only in the global cultural context, but also in the context of ideological, political, and media aspects. A hypothetical "soft power" of the native mass media and mainstream art is reflected in a number of traditional cliches, considered in this chapter: among them Moscow the "Third Rome, "Russian messianism, the axiological antinomy "Holy Russia and Euro-Sodom" and other cultural myths and ideas. Curatorial conceptions of the biggest museums and galleries demonstrate the same tendencies, but, on the other hand, Russian cultural institutions try to be a part of the international art world. The dialectics of the Russian cultural mission, in general, are based on the opposition of conservative tendencies and contemporary trends in art associated with aspects of success, novelty, commercial value, media impact and global evolution of art.