Rossotrudnichestvo

The Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation^{[lower-alpha 1]} or Rossotrudnichestvo is an autonomous Russian federal government agency under the jurisdiction of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^[1] It is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and cultural exchange. Rossotrudnichestvo operates in Central Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe (but mostly in the Commonwealth of Independent States).

Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation

Федеральное агентство по делам Содружества Независимых Государств, соотечественников, проживающих за рубежом, и по международному гуманитарному сотрудничеству (Россотрудничество)
Agency overview
Formed	September 6, 2008
Preceding agency	Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States
Headquarters	Vozdvizhenka Street 18/9 Moscow
Agency executives	Yevgeny Primakov Jr., Head Natalia Poklonskaya, Deputy Chief
Website	rs.gov.ru/en

History

The agency was created from its predecessor agency by Presidential decree, signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on 6 September 2008, with the aim of maintaining Russia's influence in the Commonwealth of Independent States, and to foster friendly ties for the advancement of Russia's political and economic interests in foreign states.^[2]

According to OECD estimates, 2019 official development assistance from Russia increased to US$1.2 billion.^[3]

Rossotrudnichestvo was assessed by expert observers^{[lower-alpha 2]} to be organising and orchestrating synchronous pro-Russian public rallies, demonstrations, and vehicle convoys across Europe in April 2022 in support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Demonstrations were held simultaneously in Dublin (Ireland), Berlin, Hanover, Frankfurt (Germany), Limassol (Cyprus), and Athens (Greece).^[4]

Sanctions

In July 2022, the European Union imposed sanctions on Rossotrudnichestvo in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[5]

See also

• Russia portal

• List of development aid agencies
• United States foreign aid
• US AID
• EXIAR

Notes

1. Russian: Федеральное агентство по делам Содружества Независимых Государств, соотечественников, проживающих за рубежом, и по международному гуманитарному сотрудничеству; commonly known as Rossotrudnichestvo (Russian: Россотрудничество, "Russo-Colleagueship")
2. Ben Noble, associate professor of Russian politics at University College London; Mark Galeotti, an analyst and Russia specialist; and Sam Ramani, an international relations expert at Oxford University provided evaluations to The Times newspaper.^[4]

References

1. Weiss, Michael (December 29, 2017). "The KGB Playbook for Turning Russians Worldwide Into Agents". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 12, 2018. For instance, the cultural organization Rossotrudnichestvo, run by Sergei Lavrov's Foreign Ministry, has financed any number of European governmental nongovernmental organizations—"GONGOs"—dealing with this mythical double-headed beast of resurgent Nazism and Russian persecution, from Tallinn to Tbilisi.
2. "The Kremlin reinforces Russia's soft power in the CIS | Centre for Eastern Studies". Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
3. "Russia | Development Co-operation Profiles – Russia| OECD iLibrary".
4. Kremlin ‘is behind pro-Russian protests in Europe’ The Times, 2022-04-16.
5. "COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2022/1270 of 21 July 2022". Retrieved 8 February 2022.

External links

• Official website (in Russian)
• Official website (in English)