Rossotrudnichestvo -- full name Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriota Residing Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Federation -- is a federal executive authority, carrying out functions for rendering public services and management of state property in the area of providing for and developing the international relations of the Russian Federation ans CIS member states, other foreign states, as well as within the field of international humanitarian cooperation.
Activities
The activities of the Agency are primarily focused on fortifying an objective perception of modern Russia, its material and spiritual potential, preserving and expanding both the language and cultural presence of Russia throughout the rest of the world, while carrying out the principles of “public diplomacy” in order to develop and reinforce friendship, cooperation, and mutual understanding between nations.
Rossotrudnichestvo conducts this work through the organization of active, systematic, and goal-oriented efforts of its representative abroad: the Russian Center of Science and Culture, which currently operates in 77 countries around the world.
A primary focus of activity for the Agency are the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States. While closely cooperating with the executive structures of the Commonwealth countries, Rossotrudnichestvo, in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation of Russia and other Russian ministries, participates in the development and implementation of development support programs in the CIS regions, coordination of activities for the preservation and expansion of stable relations with the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the expansion of inter-regional and near-border cooperation.
A significant percentage of Rossotrudnichestvo’s and its overseas institutions informational activity is comprised of the familiarization of international citizens with Russia’s external policy, the carrying out of large international events with the participation of prominent public and political figures and scientists. Such meetings, while attracting a wide variety of participants, as a rule, have the nature of public-political dialogue, with expert evaluations at the non-governmental level, promoting deeper understanding and comparisons between the positions of the participants.
The Agency possess a system of operations for supporting the Russian language abroad, promoting Russian educational services, increasing cooperation between educational institutions in partner countries, as well as working with graduates of Russian (and Soviet) universities. In many countries throughout the world, Russian language courses taught in the overseas institutions of Rossotrudnichestvo are taken part in by thousands of people. Overseas representatives of Rossotrudnichestvo facilitate the enrollment of foreign students into Russian institutes and maintain long-term relations with their graduates.
One of the important directions of Rossotrudnichestvo is its work with compatriots, strengthening connections with the Russian Diaspora overseas, improving its role and influence in the countries of residence, preserving the ethniccultural identity of their fellow countrymen, and extending their opportunities for obtaining an education in Russia.
