Russia to Create Own USAID-Style Agency to Expand Global Influence

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on a draft law to create a national mechanism for international development assistance—an initiative similar in function to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The head of Rossotrudnichestvo, Yevgeny Primakov, shared a few details in an interview with RBC. According to Primakov, the new legislation is essential to make Russia’s overseas engagement more effective and transparent. “I’m not saying we’re going to compete with USAID—it would be ambitious enough just to match what Finland is doing with its development agency,” he said. “The problem is that, for Russia to accomplish anything meaningful abroad that might impact its influence, we currently have to issue a separate government decree each time.”