On December 14, Mission Director Charles North met with students from Russia's top diplomatic academy to present an overview of USAID's worldwide activities and answer questions about USAID's programs, including programs in Russia.

A small group of disabled children found themselves at the center of high-level attention at a ceremony in Bishkek on December 8, 2011.  "You are building a bridge of friendship between two great powers, the United States and Russia," former Kyrgyz President Rosa Otunbayeva told them,

Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Paige Alexander had a visit in Moscow for high-level visits and meetings with USAID/Russia partners, including Russia's first international conference on MDG-6.

(October 13, 2011, Moscow) USAID Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Paige Alexander, signing the memorandum with Mikhail Pakhomov of CISCO, far right, USAID/Russia Mission Director Charles North, center, also signed. Photo S. Mizha

On October 13, USAID hosted a conference to highlight the mission's eight-year history of public-private partnerships with the Russian government, Russian and international corporations, and the non-profit community. 

Nearly 40 partnerships have been created since 2003, supporting projects which address socioeconomic issues such as child welfare, youth entrepreneurship, and financial transparency, areas in which USAID and its partners have a shared interest.

(Sept. 24-25, Moscow and Washington, D.C.) Code4Country, the first ever simultaneous U.S./Russian programmers' marathon, took place last weekend in Moscow and Washington, D.C. A joint effort between USAID, the U.S. State Dept., Google, American University, Cisco Systems, Yandex, and the Skolkovo Foundation, the event brought together volunteer programmers and civil society experts to work on technical solutions to issues of openness and accountability in government.

(August 19, 2011, Altaisky Krai)  Russia’s forests comprise 22% of the world’s total.   Raising awareness about the important role forests play in mitigating climate change is one of the objectives of a USAID-sponsored project implemented by the Center for Environmental Innovation (CEI), a Russian NGO.

(August 1-6, Buryatia) The first U.S.‐Russian Child Welfare Forum took place this month, organized by a USAID partner, the National Foundation for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NFPCC). Bringing together top experts from both countries, the forum provided a unique opportunity for knowledge sharing and collaboration in addressing issues such as the physical and sexual abuse of children, child pornography, trafficking, and abandonment.

(July 13-14, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky) Kamchatka could be the next big eco-tourism destination, according to participants of the 16th Annual RAPP (Russian-American Pacific Partnership) Meeting.

(June 2011, Terney, Russian Far East)   Tasked with protecting the earth's 400 remaining Amur tigers, Russian game wardens have limited resources and large areas to cover.  But thanks to a USAID-supported partnership, they now have hand-held tracking devices that will make their jobs.   The devices use MIST technology, which stores and compiles data on patrol activities for quick analysis. "MIST helps identify tiger poaching hotspots," explains project manager Michiel Hőtte.