This paper deals with history, evolution and working methods of Goethe-Institut – one of the key German soft power actors.It examines the institute’s activities following the main functions assigned to it by the German Ministry for Foreign Affairs(promoting German language and supporting cultural events) and provides a thorough study of Goethe-Institut’s projects in15 European, Asian, African, North and South American countries, namely in Argentina, Brazil, Great Britain, Germanyitself, Italy, India, Kazakhstan, China, Mexica, USA, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, France, South Africa, Japan. It has beendiscovered that forms and methods of work in the regions under investigation are generally similar. Specific features arecharacteristic of Great Britain, USA, Japan, India and South Africa only.This analysis allows to develop valuable recommendations for Russian cultural centres. The author argues thatplacing centres for learning Russian as a foreign language in small towns with vast historical and cultural heritage as well aswith developed infrastructure and good transport accessibility in Russia, using non-conventional and innovative languageand cultural interaction methods and partnering with other educational, scientific and cultural institutes – libraries,universities, foreign cultural centers, etc. – is crucial for Russian cultural centers as subjects of Russian soft power.