Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Russian world?  What is the Russkiy Mir Foundation? 

The Russian world is much larger than the territorial boundaries of Russia. It encompasses people who love Russia, Russian culture and Russian history. It also includes ethnic Russians worldwide, their relatives or spouses, emigrants, refugees, and other members of the largest linguistic diaspora in human history. Russkiy Mir is all these things and more. It is everything that defines the Russian experience, and everyone who holds Russia in their hearts, and who cares about Russia’s future.

 The Russkiy Mir Foundation is a government-sponsored, nonprofit foundation whose mission is to promote understanding and peace in the world by supporting, enhancing and encouraging the appreciation of Russian language, heritage and culture. Russkiy Mir facilitates the integration of Russian language, history and culture into global society by promoting the use and teaching of Russian language abroad, by educating foreign audiences about Russia’s rich heritage and culture, and by building new and stronger links between ethnic Russian communities abroad and the Russian Federation.

2. What does the Russkiy Mir Foundation do?

Our goal is to support the Russian language, Russian culture, and organizations that represent the Russian world. We will provide grants, financial, and technical support to programs worldwide that teach and study Russian language, bring Russian history and culture to new audiences, and foster learning and understanding between Russia and countries, societies and social groups around the world.

3. Why is there a need for this organization?

Russia’s history, especially in recent times, has featured abrupt and divisive changes that have resulted in a society that has been in some ways cast adrift from its moorings. This splintering of Russian society and loosening of social links among various strata of society has become a serious problem over the last decade. We believe that the building of a robust, tolerant civil society is impossible without the re-creation, revival, reinforcement of a vibrant community, joined in space and time. This is one of the key goals of the Russkiy Mir Foundation.

In particular, Russkiy Mir was created to address certain specific needs:
   a. Global support for learners and teachers of Russian language;
   b. Encouragement for the study and enjoyment of Russian culture and history;
   c. An effective and welcoming forum for ethnic Russians, émigrés and the Russian diaspora worldwide to reconnect with the Russian homeland.

4. What is the Foundation’s relationship to the Russian government?

Russkiy Mir was founded through a presidential decree.  The foundation is organized as a joint project between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but is independent of the ministries in its daily operations.  A number of individuals from both the ministries and the legislative branch of the Russian government participate in the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

5. How is the Russkiy Mir Foundation funded?

The Russkiy Mir Foundation is funded by a mix of state and private financing. We received state funding in the early stages of setting up the foundation; however we predict that a large portion of our eventual operating capital will come from private and non-governmental sources.

6. Who is involved?

We are lucky to have an experienced and distinguished group of specialists in the foundation. The Foundation’s Board of Trustees is chaired by Lyudmila Verbitskaya, Rector of St. Petersburg State University and a distinguished Russian language specialist.  A complete list (including biographies) of the Board of Trustees can be found here.