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Fact Sheet
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
US Department of State
Washington, DC
September 15, 2004
U.S. Assistance to Russia Fiscal Year 2004
The $880.38 million budgeted by all U.S. Government agencies for FY04 assistance programs in Russia is allocated roughly as follows:
Democracy Programs $45.43 million Economic & Social Reform $51.43 million Security & Law Enforcement $772.14 million Humanitarian Assistance $5.60 million Cross Sectoral Initiatives $5.79 million
Democracy Programs. U.S. assistance continues to face a number of challenges given Russia’s inconsistent transition toward a democratic system. Although Russia made progress in some areas, key concerns included the Russian Government asserting influence over independent media and manipulating the electoral process; continuing violence, human rights abuses and political pressure in Chechnya; politically motivated criminal prosecutions; and the Kremlin’s increasing control over local and regional governments. To address these problems, U.S. assistance programs focus on supporting civil society, independent media, local government reform, the rule of law, and increasing voter participation. In particular, democratic assistance helps strengthen NGOs and improve voter education, election monitoring, and training for young people and political leaders. U.S. Government (USG) programs also provide training for journalists, work to establish better partnerships between Russian and American legal officials, and help local governments to function more openly and responsively. U.S. technical assistance programs helped Russia make significant strides, including the beginnings of an independent judiciary, hundreds of successful local, regional and national elections; several thousand local and regional television and radio stations; and tens of thousands of civic, business, philanthropic and advocacy associations.
Economic and Social Reform. USG assistance programs support the small-to-medium-sized enterprise sector by training entrepreneurs and supporting non-bank credit institutions to respond to the need for credit to expand businesses and create jobs. Other programs help the Russian banking system transform itself into an effective intermediary of funds. Currently, the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) enterprise funds, which have turned handsome profits in recent years, are helping Russian companies grow. USAID’s assistance programs also help Russia address its serious problems in health and child welfare by supporting improvements in primary healthcare, particularly for women and infants. One clear sign of success is the reversal in Russia’s infant mortality rate, which had been increasing over the past fifteen years. USG programs are also addressing the serious family support issues that cause child abandonment. Moreover, USG activities are targeting a reduction in HIV/AIDS infection rate in Russia, which is among the most rapidly growing in the world, through educational and research collaborative efforts. The medical communities in the U.S. and Russia are working together to develop improved treatment and care for Russians living with AIDS.
Security and Law Enforcement Programs. USG programs in Russia that consolidate, secure, or destroy and dismantle weapons of mass destruction account for the lion’s share of USG assistance to Russia in 2004. The Department of Defense’s Cooperative Threat Reduction program assists Russia with the destruction of missiles and related equipment systems, as well as the construction of a facility for the safe destruction of chemical weapons. To improve interoperability with coalition or NATO forces and demonstrate how a military functions in a democracy, the International Military Education and Training Program provides English language instruction, professional military education, and military legal and peacekeeping training for Russian military and civilian officials of the Ministry of Defense. The Export Control and Related Border Security Assistance program assists foreign governments in stemming the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their delivery systems, and related technologies.
The Departments of State and Energy administer complementary programs to counteract the threat of WMDs. Department of Energy activities, $398 million in FY04, assist in the safeguarding and disposal of nuclear material, engagement of former weapons scientists in viable research endeavors, and the strengthening of the non-proliferation regime. Department of State programs help redirect the activities of former weapons scientists toward peaceful research endeavors. Today, these redirection programs are developing models to bring these scientists into self-sustaining enterprises, to focus their energies on significant health issues, and to work more closely integrating former BW/CW [biological weapons/chemical weapons] entities.
The Anti-Crime Training and Technical Assistance program supports diverse activities, including: implementation of the July 2002 Criminal Procedure Code and the August 2004 Law on Witness Protection; adoption of modern investigative techniques in the fight against narcotics, trafficking in persons, smuggling, money laundering, terrorist finance, and child pornography; the development of U.S.-Russian legal cooperation under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty; adoption of community-based policing in the Sakhalin region of the Russian Far East; the protection of intellectual property rights; and support of research into crime and corruption in Russia.
Humanitarian Assistance. USG funding is provided to U.S.-based private volunteer organizations that distribute humanitarian assistance to the most needy regions of Russia. Since 1992, this program has facilitated the delivery of nearly $670 million in humanitarian commodities to Russia at a cost of $68 million. The total value of the humanitarian commodities provided to Russia in FY04 is estimated to be in excess of $6 million. This program will conclude at the end of FY04.
The Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) provided $15.2 million in FY04 to assist internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the North Caucasus. These funds include $225,000 from EUR/ACE to support life-sustaining assistance programs for IDPs. Since 1999, PRM and EUR/ACE have provided over $100 million for relief assistance in the North Caucasus.
Cross-Sectoral Initiatives. USG programs concerning management of natural resources combine sound business and ecological techniques to help Russia decide how to manage its Siberian forests, which holds more than 20% of the world’s standing timber. USG assistance helps independent Russian research and policy institutions produce scholarly articles and advice for policy makers that are specifically adapted to Russia. USG implementers are also helping bring civil society, local government, media and business together to combat corruption across Russia.
The State Department operates an umbrella program called the "Regional Initiative" (RI), designed to promote cross-cutting development in selected areas of the country outside of the major population centers. Current areas of focus are the Volga Federal District, the Tomsk/Novosibirsk area of Siberia, and the Russian Far East. The RI helps coordinate assistance activities in these regions, provides information to local residents about programs active in the area, and encourages greater participation of regional governments in ongoing programs.
Additionally, exchange programs are a vital component of our assistance programs in all areas. In FY03, approximately 5,000 Russians came to the United States on USG-funded exchange and professional training programs. Since 1993, over 58,000 Russians have come to the United States on these programs.
Many agencies of the United States Government implement assistance programs, including the United States Agency for International Development, the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Justice, Labor, Treasury and State, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.