Russia is unique amongst the BRICS group for being a ‘re-emerging’ donor. The USSR was one of the largest donor countries in the world. After a relatively brief period as a net aid recipient during the 1990s, Russia has once again become a significant provider of development assistance. A number of new opportunities now exist to promote greater cooperation in this field between Russia and traditional donors. It is unlikely that any future global development cooperation agenda can be defined without strong Russian participation. It is therefore crucial for established donor countries to develop a clear understanding of Russian priorities such as health and education, as well as identify areas for further collaboration.UK Department for International Developmen

Berenson, M. P

Larionova, M

Rakhmangulov, M

English

IDS OpenDocs

Russian development cooperation is driven by key 
security and economic priorities, as well as 
commitments made to multilateral organisations. 
Russian official development assistance (ODA), 
increased fivefold in the period 2004-2011. In spite 
of the global economic crisis, Russia has not only 
been able to meet its earlier commitments, but 
has also significantly increased its international 
development expenditure.  
Given a series of Russia’s presidencies in major 
international institutions starting with the G20 
this year, Russia is both interested and well 
positioned to take on new international initiatives 
by which to promote its national priorities in the 
global agenda of cooperation for development.
Russia’s historical role in development 
cooperation
There is a rich and varied Soviet development 
cooperation legacy which contemporary Russia 
can draw upon. The volume of Soviet aid was 
significant. While the USSR never published 
statistics, some researchers estimate that the 
annual development assistance offered by the 
Soviet Union may well have averaged 0.2 to 0.25 
per cent of the country’s gross national income.
By 1991, over 900 large-scale projects had been 
implemented in developing countries. These were 
in areas ranging from major infrastructural 
projects (including high-profile cases like the 
Aswan Dam in Egypt and Bokaro Steel Mill in 
India) to education, health and geological 
surveying — undertaken largely with the goal of 
enabling developing countries to become self-
sufficient from the capitalist world. The USSR also 
sponsored education programmes: in total, over 
half a million foreign citizens were educated in 
Soviet-sponsored programmes. 
The high point of such cooperation was in the 
1970s. During the 1980s, Soviet assistance to the 
developing world began to decline as the country 
focused more on its own internal economic issues. 
In the 1990s, the collapse of the USSR transformed 
Russia’s status from donor to recipient.
Russia had, however, continued to assist developing 
countries through financial contribution to the 
UN institutions, debt relief and emergency 
assistance. In 2005, during the run-up to its first 
G8 presidency, Russia officially announced its 
desire to scale up its donor activities. 
During Russia’s G8 Presidency in 2006 the main 
priorities on development cooperation were 
identified and a significant increase in external aid 
financing was pledged. The presidency marked 
Russia’s decisive policy shift back to net donorship. 
A major step forward in this regard was the 
adoption by the Russian Ministry of Finance of 
a strategic vision of Russian policy on the 
provision of development assistance. This 
document, which was endorsed by the Russian 
president in June 2007, is known as the ‘Concept 
of Russia’s Participation in International 
Development Assistance’ (or simply the 
‘Concept’). (See Box)
www.ids.ac.uk
Po
lic
y B
R
IE
FI
N
G
 
ISSUE 53 • FEBRUARY 2014
Russia is unique amongst the BRICS group for being a ‘re-emerging’ donor. The 
USSR was one of the largest donor countries in the world. After a relatively brief 
period as a net aid recipient during the 1990s, Russia has once again become a 
significant provider of development assistance. A number of new opportunities 
now exist to promote greater cooperation in this field between Russia and 
traditional donors. It is unlikely that any future global development cooperation 
agendas can be defined without strong Russian participation. It is therefore crucial 
for established donor countries to develop a clear understanding of Russian priorities 
such as health and education, as well as identify areas for further collaboration. 
 Promoting Greater 
 Cooperation Between Russia 
 and OECD Donors
Russian development cooperation 
priorities
Information published by the World Bank 
suggests that the majority of Russia’s ODA is 
allocated to health, estimated at 40 per cent, 
while education accounts for about 25 per cent 
and energy and food about 35 per cent. 
These estimations do not include debt relief. 
Efforts to extinguish developing countries’ 
debts have been extensive, with US$16bn 
written off by July 2008, according to former 
President Dmitry Medvedev. Over the last 
few years, Russia wrote off debts accrued 
by the former Soviet Union, within the 
framework of the Heavily Indebted Poor 
Countries Initiative. Currently, Russia is 
focusing on assistance in the form of grants to 
international funds and programmes of 
international development. Russia aims to 
develop a national system of instruments to 
provide such assistance on a bilateral basis.
Russian development assistance remains 
strongly multilateral. According to the data 
submitted by Russia to the OECD Development 
Assistance Committee (DAC), 36 per cent of 
total ODA in 2010 was multilateral. This is an 
underestimate, as 26 per cent of bilateral ODA 
is also allocated through programmes and funds 
managed by international organisations. In total, 
then, about 62 per cent of Russian ODA is 
managed by international organisations.
There have been indications of an expanding 
partnership between Russia and international 
institutions engaged in food security and 
agriculture development. In September 2010, 
the Russian Government created the 
Permanent Mission of Russia at the FAO and 
other international organisations based 
in Rome.
‘Concept of Russia’s Participation in International 
Development Assistance’
The Concept defined a number of key priority sectors for Russian development assistance, 
including energy, health and education. The document highlighted the importance of 
development cooperation for two reasons: ( 1 )  the growth of interdependence due to 
economic globalisation, (2) the importance of sustainable development for global security 
through reducing threats from the spread of terrorism, infectious diseases, unregulated 
migration, and environmental disasters.
International development assistance policy conducted by Russia should, according to the 
Concept, contribute to meeting Russia’s economic and political interests in a number of ways:
 • Strengthening Russia’s international position and credibility;
 • Stabilising socioeconomic and political situation in the recipient countries;  
 • Establishing a belt of good neighbourliness, including the prevention of potential focal 
tension and conflict, primarily in the regions neighbouring Russia;
 • Creating a favourable external environment for Russia’s own development.
 
The Concept states that ‘as the necessary socioeconomic conditions are created, Russia will 
further increase provisions for aid, aiming to steadily move towards the achievement of the 
UN recommended target: allocation of at least 0.7 percent GDP for purposes of international 
development assistance.’
IDS POLICY BRIEFING PROMOTING GREATER COOPERATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND OECD DONORS ISSUE 53 • FEBRUARY 2014 www.ids.ac.uk
“Information 
published by 
the World 
Bank suggests 
that the 
majority of 
Russia’s ODA is 
allocated to 
health.”
IDS POLICY BRIEFING PROMOTING GREATER COOPERATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND OECD DONORS ISSUE 53 • FEBRUARY 2014 www.ids.ac.uk
“There are 
strong prospects 
for Russia to 
consolidate its 
international 
development 
policy at the 
national level 
and to put 
forward 
ambitious 
proposals for
the future.”
In 2012 an important government 
announcement stated that the management 
of bilateral aid will be centred on the Federal 
Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent 
States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and 
International Cultural Cooperation (known by 
its Russian acronym, Rossotrudnichestvo), 
which is subordinate to the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs. At the same time, multilateral aid will 
be mainly based at the Ministry of Finance and 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
Civil society organisations and academia are 
interested both in increasing their participation 
in Russia’s actions on development assistance, 
and in influencing the processes related to 
development assistance. A 2010 survey of 
Russian opinion leaders showed that the 
allocation of aid through international 
organisations was deemed preferable because 
of perceptions of high levels of corruption in 
Russia. According to a public opinion survey, 
the majority of the Russian population are not 
aware of how much Russia spends on ODA, 
and do not support a future increase. Russian 
politicians have acknowledged the need for 
continued awareness-raising and advocacy in 
this area. 
Russia’s priorities for the future international 
development cooperation agenda are:
1. Compliance with existing commitments 
made in international settings, both 
multilateral and bilateral. 
2. A focused approach allocating funds to a 
select number of countries to achieve an 
impact, with the ‘near abroad’ countries 
being a priority. 
3. Health, education (including human 
resources development), food and 
agriculture, and energy as sectoral priorities. 
4. Ensuring efficiency of the development 
cooperation programmes. 
5. Russia will prioritise accelerating growth 
and employment, as well as developing 
trade with its partners in contrast to 
traditional aid programmes.
Policy opportunities
 • Given a series of Russian presidencies in major international institutions (G20 in 2013, G8 
in 2014 and BRICS in 2015), Russia is both interested and well-positioned to take on new 
international initiatives by which it can promote its national priorities on the global 
agenda. There are strong prospects for Russia to consolidate its international development 
policy at the national level and to put forward ambitious proposals for future cooperation 
for development internationally.
 • In the context of ongoing deliberation on the formulation of new development priorities 
after the ending of the current Millennium Development Goals in 2015, Russia is 
well-positioned to adopt a forward looking document defining its role in the post-2015 
development assistance architecture.
 • There have been successful initiatives between traditional donors and Russia, which 
could be built upon in the coming years. The World Bank and the UK Department for 
International Development together with the Russian Ministry of Finance supported a 
technical assistance programme, ‘Russia as a Donor Initiative (RDI)’, which was aimed at 
strengthening the capacity of Russian ministries and agencies in the area of international 
aid. UNDP carried out a similar programme focused on the Rossotrudnichestvo.
IDS_Master Logo
IDS Policy Briefings are published by the Institute of Development Studies and aim to provide high quality 
analysis and practical recommendations for policymakers on important development issues. 
To subscribe: www.ids.ac.uk/idspolicybriefings
Institute of Development Studies, Brighton BN1 9RE UK
T +44 (0) 1273 606261  F + 44 (0) 1273 621202  E ids@ids.ac.uk  W www.ids.ac.uk
     twitter.com/IDS_UK #idspolicy       facebook.com/idsuk
IDS POLICY BRIEFING ISSUE 53 • FEBRUARY 2014 www.ids.ac.uk
Policy recommendations
 • Plans for implementing a development assistance system in Russia should be 
further developed to ensure coherence and avoid overlapping of functions and 
responsibilities. Russia may consider outlining specific legal and policy measures 
and providing for the monitoring and assessment of results. Russia may find it 
beneficial to adopt a state programme on development assistance, as other 
countries have done.
 • More established donor countries should seek to engage more closely with Russia 
around five key areas that have been prioritised in current Russian development 
cooperation policy:
1. Compliance with commitments that have been made in international 
settings, both multilateral and bilateral. 
2. A focused approach allocating funds to a select number of countries, with 
the ‘near abroad’ countries being a priority. 
3. A number of sectoral priorities, including health, education, food and 
agriculture, as well as energy. 
4. Ensuring efficiency of the development cooperation programmes. 
5. A model of development cooperation where development is attained 
through support of economic growth rather than through traditional aid 
programmes.
 • Traditional donors should continue to identify opportunities to help build Russian 
ministries and agencies’ capacity in the area of development cooperation.  A 
recent example of one such initiative is the Russia as a Donor Initiative (RDI), 
which was a technical assistance programme supported by the World Bank, the 
UK Department for International Development and the Russian Ministry of 
Finance.
 • The experience of traditional donors in the OECD-DAC on reporting can be 
highly useful for Russian government departments, and further mechanisms of 
working together in this area could be developed.
Further reading
Gray, P. (2011) ‘Looking “The 
Gift” in the mouth: Russia as 
donor’, Anthropology Today, 27.2.
Twigg, J. (2012) Russia’s Emerging 
Global Health Leadership, 
Washington, DC: Center for 
Strategic and International 
Studies
UK Government (2013) Lough 
Erne Accountability  Report.
World Bank (2011) Country 
Partnership Strategy (CPS) 
for the Russian Federation for 
the Period 2012-2016. 
http://documents.worldbank.
org/curated/en/ 
2011/11/15573196/
russian-federation-country-
partnership-strategy-
period-2012-2016
Credits
This IDS Policy Briefing was written 
by Marc P. Berenson, former IDS 
Research Fellow now at Kings 
Russia Institute, Kings College, 
London, Marina Larionova and 
Mark Rakhmangulov, 
International Organisations 
Research Institute (IORI) at the 
Higher School of Economics 
(HSE) in Moscow with support 
from Musab Younis. It was 
produced as part of the Rising 
Powers in International 
Development programme, 
supported with UK aid from the 
UK Government.
The opinions expressed are those 
of the author and do not necessarily 
reflect the views of IDS or the 
UK government’s official policies.
Readers are encouraged to 
quote and reproduce material 
from the IDS Policy Briefing series. 
In return, IDS requests due 
acknowledgment and quotes to 
be referenced as above.
AG Output Level 2 ID: 145 
© Institute of Development Studies, 2014 
ISSN 1479-974X


Promoting Greater Cooperation Between Russia and OECD Donors

https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/3538/AGID145_PB%2353_Russia_Web.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Promoting Greater Cooperation Between Russia and OECD Donors

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

IDS OpenDocs