The article deals with the cultural stereotypes concerning Russia’s image abroad, in particular using the case of the French media. Despite the well-established notion of stereotypes as negative images, today the opposite perception of this phenomenon can be seen much more often: some scholars single out these sings as a separate phenomenon and give such “positive stereotypes” the name of “prototypes”. The author examines the evolution of Russia’s image from the perspective of the French printed media. Special attention is devoted to improving tone of references to Russia, which became possible not only due to a realistic immersion into the environment (such as the recently held FIFA World Cup), but also through the contacts of the so called “citizen diplomacy”. The latter type of cross-cultural interaction is crucial to support, given the existing interest on the part of France which is one of the leading EU countries and an important partner for Russia on the international area.