Russia

Accountability
$44,831
To increase transparency in the local municipal government and develop anticorruption awareness in the region. This project included seminars and roundtables on methods for reducing corruption on the local level.

$25,060
To help citizens engage with the local bureaucracy to increase transparency and accountability. The organization will hold seminars on how to request information from the government according to existing Russian law.

$35,000
To support the provision of historically accurate information. The organization will develop materials to help history teachers develop accurate pedagogies.

$30,600
To examine the impact of corruption on Russian society. The organization will focus its research on the non-financial impacts of corruption, including service provision and human rights violations.

$39,735
The organization will hold trainings and seminars for those interested in becoming more involved in civic life.

$49,328
To foster greater accountability of elected officials. The organization will monitor local officials’ voting records and discuss the results of their monitoring.

$34,890
To develop a web portal for citizens interested in ecological issues. The web portal will bring people together to discuss environmental issues online.

Civic Education
$50,000
The organization will conduct training seminars for teachers on Soviet history and its impact on present-day Russia. Materials will be made available in print and electronic formats for teachers from around the country.

$75,370
To teach civic leaders to use new technologies effectively in their work.

$40,500
The organization will conduct human rights training seminars for teachers in local schools and seminars for citizens on protecting their fundamental constitutional rights. 

$25,225
To provide trainings and education for local youth. The organization will conduct a series of seminars and trainings for young people interested in participating in public life.

$55,000
The organization will work with teachers to develop new lesson plans. Curricula created as part of the project will be distributed nationally.

$37,000
To educate young people about the lessons of the Soviet era. The organization will engage people in a discussion about what they understand of Soviet history, and what implications it has for modern Russia.

Democratic Ideas and Values
$65,000
To provide citizens and members of civic groups with information regarding Russia’s legislative system.

$45,000
To engage citizens in a discussion of local issues. The organization will host a series of debates, radio shows and other public events to discuss important local issues.

$16,081
To bring together and provide training for youth. The organization will conduct three five-day seminars.

$75,000
To provide legal and informational assistance to Russian individuals and organizations.

Freedom of Information
$60,000
To develop a web platform for the discussion of local issues. The website will include information on the role of local elected officials, news pieces and educational pieces on human rights and other subjects.

$25,000
To improve interregional cooperation among human rights workers and NGOs on judicial issues. The organization will create a web portal to discuss legal threats to civic leaders.

$17,000
To develop software that will aid Russian community organizations in gathering and analyzing information collected from Internet sources. The organization will improve its website by organizing the digitization and distribution of its analytical work.

$60,005
To provide an independent venue for NGOs to hold media events.

$34,225
To expand a blog-aggregator, which collects the blog posts from civic groups, human rights defenders and other popular bloggers and reposts them on a single webpage.

$55,000
To publish a cultural and historical journal. During the project, the organization will publish four issues of its journal.

$20,000
To run an educational program for bloggers in three large cities. The organization will operate three independent schools, bringing together active bloggers to receive training in the fundamentals of journalism.

$75,000
To provide reliable and accurate information on local events. The organization will monitor and rate regional human rights blogs to help share information.

$50,000
To gather and disseminate information about the activities of Russian human rights organizations and issues affecting the development of human rights in Russia.

$90,000
To promote freedom of information by monitoring official information resources. Monitoring reports, news, and other resources will be disseminated on the organization’s website and as printed reports.

$44,998
To publish a bimonthly newspaper on human rights issues. The newspaper will cover topics of relevance to human rights, including the status of regional human rights issues. 

$31,704
To expand and improve an Internet news journal. To publish information on underreported issues of local concern, including ecological problems.

$40,000
To provide legal support and education to those working in journalism throughout Russia. The organization will also provide legal advice.

$44,920
To create a platform to encourage the exchange of information on issues of local interest. The organization will create a portal to appeal to citizens becoming involved in public life for the first time.

$49,990
To improve access to information about Russian environmental issues. This organization will maintain its website and publish four print and electronic editions of a journal on ecological topics.

Human Rights
$37,624
To monitor the treatment of inmates and detainees currently held in prison. The organization will establish a legal aid center for detainees and their families.

$88,020
To support an annual conference, which will bring together human rights defenders to improve coordination among human rights organizations working in the regions and to explore avenues for redress.

$60,000
To help refugees to secure residency permits and basic humanitarian assistance and to provide legal aid.

$45,000
To train human rights lawyers on international judicial procedures. The organization will operate its Strasbourg study program, which will provide 14 qualified lawyers and human rights defenders with hands-on training in European Court of Human Rights procedures and norms.

$67,988
To support a program of monitoring, analysis, and publications to counter xenophobia. The organization will monitor the activities of extremist and ultra-nationalist groups, and publish analytical reports and books based on its monitoring activities.

$80,000
The organization will monitor the use of torture by law enforcement officials through reports in the regional press and consultations offered at its local headquarters. The organization will publicize the results of its monitoring on its website, through partner NGOs, and in local and national media outlets.

$60,000
To protect against human rights abuse through provision of material and technical assistance.

$44,480
To create a database of repeated human rights violations.

$75,755
The organization will provide legal assistance to victims of human rights abuses, and widely distribute information regarding human rights standards.

$55,000
To conduct a human rights and legal education program including leadership trainings for local NGOs, student workshops, and legal trainings for prison monitors. Legal assistance will also be provided to victims of human rights abuses and their families.

$45,643
To provide assistance to Russian citizens whose right to freedom of movement has been violated. The program will include information dissemination as well as targeted practical legal support.

$27,310
To defend minorities whose human rights are violated within Russia and in regional bodies.

$26,200
To conduct human rights seminars and consultations for draft-age youth, conscripts, and their families. The organization will also work to help young people exercise their right to alternative service.

$45,000
To conduct human rights monitoring and legal assistance programs. Staff will collect information about human rights violations and provide citizens with free legal advice.

$24,963
To conduct human rights seminars and consultations for young Russian army draftees to examine conditions in the army.

$50,000
To coordinate the efforts of human rights organizations protecting minorities on the national and regional levels in Russia. The organization will advise authorities, network with other human rights NGOs, and monitor discrimination against minorities.

$50,000
The organization will hold a series of roundtables and conferences to deepen local understanding of human rights, and will work to assist local authorities, including judges, in better protecting them.

$50,000
To run a legal education internship program for students, post graduates, and practicing lawyers. This program will include training on conducting interviews with clients, drafting correspondence regarding pending European Court of Human Rights cases, and preparing applications to the Court.

$25,000
The organization will provide legal advice for individual victims of violence, document the extent of domestic violence, and raise awareness by working with schools and hospitals to educate teachers, doctors and students about the rights of women according to the Russian Constitution.

$25,000
To monitor and report on the implementation of European Court of Human Rights decisions by the Russian government.

$20,000
To assist civic leaders in defending their legal rights.

$30,356
The organization will host roundtables and open discussions with leading public figures to raise awareness of the problem of gender discrimination. The organization will also lead training seminars to empower women to defend their rights and will offer free legal aid to women in need.

$45,000
To provide free legal representation and consultation to victims of human rights violations in Russia. Assistance will include utilizing regional or international instruments for human rights protection and defense.

$80,000
To promote broader respect for human rights in the armed forces. The organization will assess human rights conditions within military bases throughout Russia and update its website.

NGO Strengthening
$25,000
To provide assistance to six newly-formed NGOs and initiative groups nationwide. 

$64,925
To support legal assistance and NGO training programs for newly formed NGOs and initiative groups. The organization will include an annual training on human rights, which will provide past participants with additional training on effective legal practices for NGOs.

$24,995
The organization will host trainings for youth and seminars for the leaders of new and existing nonprofit organizations on advocacy, leadership skills, public relations, and the use of social media.

$34,992
To create a center for NGO assistance. The center will conduct trainings and consultations for organizations, and it will provide a platform for consolidating resources and allowing organizations to share experiences and information.

$49,993
To support NGO development. The organization will educate citizens about opportunities for civic participation in government. The organization will work with local NGOs to make them aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Enhancing Effective Citizen Engagement
$60,003
To support a ten-month citizen education program. Support will enable production of new training material for distribution by regional coordinators for use during training seminars and discussion clubs.

$25,000
To conduct a citizen education and outreach program. The organization will conduct research on local citizen participation and hold informational sessions and trainings on effective local involvement.

$39,430
To better understand Russian citizens’ goals and priorities. Interviews and focus groups will be used to ascertain citizen understanding of trends in Russian society.

$25,044
To conduct three seminars on civic engagement in Russia for students at universities and technical schools in three different regions. 

Rule of Law
$40,000
To support a legal aid and education program for citizens. The organization will provide free consultations and legal assistance.

$45,000
The organization will prepare and publicize information about new laws in Russia.

$14,708
The organization will poll citizens on their attitudes towards Russian society. The results of the surveys will be published on the organization’s website.

Russia Crossborder Projects

The Institute of Public Affairs
$58,020
To continue a crossborder fellowship program for young Russian think tank analysts. The Warsaw-based Institute of Public Affairs will work with Russian partners to select 10 promising policy analysts, hold a two-day training in Moscow, bring the fellows on a week-long training and research visit to Poland, and produce and publish 10 policy papers on democracy issues.

Lion Society
$91,429
Building Ukrainian-Russian Civil Society Networks
To continue a crossborder civil society-building program with Russia. The Society will organize two meetings of Ukrainian and Russian NGOs to plan joint programs; support 60 short-term travel grants to promote crossborder initiatives; award 10 small grants for joint programs; publish a brochure; and expand a website on crossborder programs.

Medium Orient Information Agency
$39,312
The Prague-based Medium Orient Information Agency will conduct surveys on important social, economic and religious issues in Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachaevo-Cherkessia. The results will be compiled and published as a brochure. The Agency will also publish 20 articles each month on key developments in the region on its website.

Merkury Foundation
$37,680
To enhance the skills of young journalists in Russia's regions. The Foundation will conduct four training workshops for young journalists in the four regions of Russia. Topics to be addressed will include the role of journalists in a democratic society, basics of investigative journalism, and experience of media in transitioning societies, among others.

People in Need
$58,520
To continue assisting Russian human rights organizations by strengthening their advocacy and outreach capacity. PIN will organize a five-day training program on video advocacy for 12 activists from leading Russian human rights NGOs and subsequently provide consultations and mentoring to assist participants in developing their own human rights films. PIN will also bring three of the most promising alumni from last year's video training project to take part in its One World Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Prague to build further expertise, and send one promising Russian human rights advocate to One World Brussels festival.

Slovene Philanthropy
$70,534
To continue its civic education work in the volatile regions. Building on earlier projects promoting volunteerism among youth in the region, Slovene Philanthropy will prepare and distribute informational and training materials, conduct four trainings for 100 new civil society mentors, and train 1,000 student volunteers.

Transitions Online
$74,730
To continue developing an environmental investigative journalism network in Russia. The Prague-based Transitions Online (TOL) will maintain and improve their website, conduct two three-day workshops in Russia's regions for a total of 24 journalists and civic leaders, and organize an online environmental journalism school for 20 participants.

Core Institute Grants

American Center for International Labor Solidarity
$527,500
To build the capacity of select unions and regional structures to conduct internal and external training and legal advocacy for freedom of association, the SC will provide organizing, collective bargaining and strategic planning training for sectoral and regional union leaders and activists as well as for organizers and national leadership.

Center for International Private Enterprise
$280,030
To reduce the corruption potential of laws and regulations that affect entrepreneurs in four Russian regions, CIPE will work with partners to identify reform priorities and then build upon an existing legal framework to advocate closing specific legislative loopholes that allow for corruption. CIPE will hold educational seminars to strengthen regional chambers of commerce in their capacity to review legislation and provide recommendations.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
$180,000
To promote youth activism in Russia's regions through a multipartisan youth debate club program and a two-week study mission. The program will expose young leaders to European models of youth engagement through internships in selected NGOs. NDI will offer debate club and study mission participants issue advocacy and leadership workshops and webinars, and assistance in planning and implementing joint community projects.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
$125,000
NDI will develop a series of self-guided, web-based training modules aimed at regional party leaders on best practices and basic principles of party organizing for Russian-language speakers.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
$170,000
Building on recent revitalization of civic awareness in Russia after a fraudulent parliamentary election in 2011, NDI will promote increased civic engagement in Russia's regions. NDI will work with three to four regional community trainers who will then identify civil society organizations in their respective communities and assist them in increasing their capacity to do community outreach.

Grant descriptions are from the 2012 NED Annual Report.