Russia

DFID closed its bilateral development programmes in Russia in March 2007. Given Russia's rising wealth, its upper-middle income country status, and its membership of the G8 Group of Countries, a traditional development programme based only on technical assistance transfers is no longer appropriate. Russia is also an emerging donor itself, and has been increasing contributions to the multilateral aid system. Russia has an enormous potential to contribute to the reduction of global poverty, and the UK's development relationship with Russia has shifted to reflect this.

From 2002 until the bilateral programme closed in 2007, DFID spent over £77 million in Russia. Our programme focused on five main areas:

• Russian participation in global institutions
• Improving the capacity of state institutions
• Social policy, including health and HIV/AIDS
• Improving access to livelihood opportunities
• Improving access to justice

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Russia Country Programme Evaluation

An independent evaluation of the Russia programme in late 2006 found that DFID’s work promoted:

• New approaches to policy design and implementation
• Changes in views and attitudes and innovative ways of thinking
• The introduction of project management approaches based on the measured achievement of objectives
• Innovative technical approaches to problems, and good demonstration of their effectiveness
• Positive collaboration between European and Russian experts

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What is DFID doing now in Russia?

We are working with the World Bank and the European Commission to maintain and develop a close development partnership with Russia because:

• Russia's interest in and contribution to international development is growing.
• As a member of the G8 Group of countries, Russia has a huge contribution to make on global issues like poverty reduction and climate change.
• We want to look for opportunities to co-ordinate our future aid plans.

Rising wealth in Russia has produced rising expectations for improved public services, which is why DFID continues to support efforts aimed at Public Administration Reform (PAR) in Russia. DFID supported a first phase of PAR programmes from 2003 until 2007. We are building on the support we have already provided in this area and have committed further resources to fund a three year programme. This programme runs from 2007 until 2010.

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More on Public Administration Reform

DFID plans to provide support for PAR work for a further three years, channelling our funds through the World Bank who will also manage the programme. The Programme aims to support the Government's efforts to make public administration in Russia more efficient and effective. Our support will be targeted at working with regional authorities, especially in the Southern Federal Districts.

We hope that our support for the Programme will help to:-

• strengthen the capacity of selected regional administrations to design and implement public sector and governance reforms, such as better pubic performance and management systems, and more efficient safety nets;
• respond quickly and flexibly to Government's requests for help in these areas;
• fund a Donor Secretariat that will provide better co-ordination of activities and Agencies that are supporting administrative reforms;
• standardise approaches across regions in specific areas, for example in good audit practice.

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International Aid Assistance: Britain and Russia

Britain is one of the largest providers of international aid in the world. The British Government is committed to reaching the UN target for international development assistance, where countries are urged to commit 0.7% of their gross national income to international aid every year. Britain is on track to reach this target. In 2006, Britain's aid budget stood at £6.77 billion: 0.51% of the UK's gross national income.

Russia has also announced that it intends to increase its international development assistance programmes. In July 2007, President Putin approved a concept paper that sets out Russia’s plans for international development assistance. The policies set out in this paper are very close to the UK's approach to providing aid.

More information on the Russian Government's plans on international aid can be found at the following web address:

To read more about the Russian Government's plans on international aid

The UK wants to support Russia as it builds up its aid programmes. We want to do this because:

• Russia has committed to doing more in this area, and the UK has already set ambitious targets for its own aid efforts.
• As members of the G8 Group of Countries, Russia and the UK have shared responsibilities to help combat global poverty.
• There is good scope for co-operation. Both Russia and Britain have committed to provide aid in ways that:

• is aimed at reaching the Millennium Development Goals;
• is aligned with partner countries' own economic development programmes; and
• is provided in close collaboration with other donors, both multilateral and bilateral.

A senior Russian Government team visited the UK in June 2007 to see how the UK Government managed its aid programme, and how the various Departments across the UK Government were involved in programming and policy decisions. The group met Ministers, visited other government departments, and also met representatives from Parliament to learn more about how the UK manages aid.

Since this visit, we have been exploring ways in which we can collaborate more closely with the Russian Government in this area. We would like to support the World Bank's proposals for work here, since the Bank is the Government's principal partner in this area. We are currently working with the Bank to see how best we can do this, responding to requests from the Russian Government where it feels assistance would be most useful.

Last updated: 25 March 2008