The concept of “Russkiy Mir” has been in use by the highest Russian officials since 2001. However, the term lacks a universally agreed-upon understanding, even in official government communication. This lack of clarity has contributed to various and sometimes conflicting interpretations of Russkiy Mir, which is a core focal concept in Russian foreign policy. Some have associated it with diaspora politics, others with civilizational or nationalist rhetoric, and still others equate it with Russia’s soft power strategies. We build on Lareulle’s understanding of Russkiy Mir as a “floating signifier” with a “fuzzy” and multi-dimensional character. To show this, we conduct quantitative text analysis (QTA) on several corpi, including speeches by President Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, religious leader Patriarch Kirill, and the Russian World Foundation, which was established in 2008 to promote Russian cultural values abroad. By ’climbing the wall of empathy,’ we aim to understand the construction and meaning of Russkiy Mir through the eyes of those who shape it. This will provide insights into how Russia perceives itself and its positioning in the world and how this perception has changed over time. Moreover, it allows us to see how authoritarian regimes utilize discursive tools to mobilize the nation in support of expansive foreign policy goals.