Russia in the Global Storm was the topic of a presentation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace last month. One of the presenters, Zeljko Bogetic from the World Bank, cautioned that Russia’s “lack of attention towards greater social safety net programs was worrisome.” He went on to say that it is estimated that 4.7 million Russians would fall into poverty this year, compared to the 1.1 million that did so last year. According to Bogetic, regions that rely on only a single source of employment, those that had pre-crisis high unemployment and those with large stakes in sectors that have been most affected, including manufacturing, construction and retail trade, will be hit the hardest.
We have alumni of FRAEC in many of Russia’s regions, so this article prompted me to review the results of a recent informal survey we conducted. We had asked our alumni about how things were going, what were the most important issues facing their communities and how we could work together to address them. The responses came from Moscow, the Urals, Siberia, and the Russian Far East. They included business owners, politicians, NGO leaders, educators and representatives from tribal arts groups. Their comments were as diverse as their professions and locations, and yet there were common themes.
What they said certainly echoed the concerns expressed by the article. Many mentioned the problems of the economy and the impact on their region. They worried about unemployment, not just for those already employed, but for the university graduates facing a challenging job environment. This was particularly challenging for our alum living in the Urals, a region dependent upon heavy industry manufacturing. Many asked that we share our experience from the US regarding professional development and job placement.
Another issue raised by one of our regional government alums was society’s “misunderstanding of civil servants in government and the idea of how to construct a civil society.” His work, and the work of his agency, is to help better inform the citizens of their rights and how to interact with government departments and agencies. This was underscored by another official from a different region who said: “It is even more poignant now to learn how to draw civil society and non-commercial organizations to the administration at the municipal level.” He went on to say, “It is very important to ensure that the population believes that the question of how the territory where they live develops, depends on them.” I was pleased that our USAID-funded US-RFE Municipal Partnership Program is targeted to assist with both of these concerns.
Finally, many shared concerns about youth and the growing challenges of xenophobia, crime, aggressive youth and bullying. This is not to say that all youth in Russia are aggressive, but as the economic situation worsens and unless there is an effort to help find jobs for the youth, they worry that there will be more problems. Again they are looking to the U.S. for ideas, models and training. Fortunately there are a number of good programs in Russia; some funded by the US government, but it is clear that they are looking for more ideas and assistance.
One bright spot related to youth was a response from our alum in the City of Artyom. In 2006, our governance exchange program brought 16 leaders in two groups from two regions in the Russian Far East to Seattle. Each group developed a project to be implemented. One group, which included the Mayor of Artyom, decided to conduct a Day of Youth Governance in his city. Some months later, after a week-long intensive training program, including job shadowing of their adult mentors and presentations by the Model UN-Russian Far East members, thirty young people assumed the positions of mayor, city council deputies and department heads. Afterwards, one young participant commented that “it is tough making these decisions.”
Because of its success, it is now an annual event in the City of Artyom. The city has added a competition for youth projects, such as an internet cafe, a youth initiative for “harmful habits” prevention and a youth television project. In 2009 they added two new ideas: “Leader”, a competition for project research and management and another, “Young Politician”, to increase youth participation in the socio-political activities of the city. The winners of both of these projects will be considered for job openings at the city, and most importantly, this model is now being replicated to other cities in Primorsky Krai and hopefully elsewhere in Russia. What a success!
FRAEC’s Director of the 
