Volunteer Opportunities in Russia and the NIS
The following organizations may be interested in working with foreign volunteers. Get additional information by clicking on the links..
Russia General
Baikal Area
Moscow
Novosibirsk
Perm
St. Petersburg
Russia - Other
Lithuania
Kyrgyztan
Ukraine
ISAR
Resources for Environmental Activists supports collaborative resolutions to the environmental threats faced by communities in the former Soviet Union by building advocacy skills, galvanizing international environmental campaigns, and increasing public participation in environmental policy-making. ISAR provides training, technical, and informational resources to environmental activists through their Environmental Advocacy Training Program, Environmental Monitoring and Research Program, and Environmental Media and Information Program and is focused on four issues: Nuclear Industry, Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Health. ISAR’s volunteer needs vary dependant on current programming. Intern positions in the DC office are posted on the website. For overseas positions, please contact one of ISAR’s Russia-based offices directly. Contact: Alice Hengesbach, Co-Director, 1601 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 301, Washington, DC 20009; (202) 387-3034;
Peace Corp
Peace Corps sends U.S. citizens abroad for 2 years to volunteer in emerging economies. There are several countries in the Central/Eastern European and Central Asia regions where Russian is spoken. Work in Business and Information Technology, Education, Health, Environment, or Agriculture. You can search by country on the Peace Corps web site. Volunteers are flown to and from their host country and receive three months of training, living expenses, medical insurance, paid vacation, loan deferment/cancellation, $6,075 upon completion of service, career services, and the opportunity to create lasting connections in one of over 70 developing countries. For more information about the Peace Corps, visit the web site or contact them at , option 1 (toll free), 612-348-1480 (local), or .
The Great Baikal Trail Ass
ociation -- Ulan-Ude Office
The Great Baikal Trail Association supports the growth of ecotourism in the Baikal area by building a 1200 mile network of ecotrails. GBT has been supported by Greenpeace, EarthCorps, Rotary International, all 6 local nature parks, and many other organizations. Up to 250 volunteers work on trail projects each summer. In addition, volunteers can work during the year at the office
on a variety of projects. Translation between Russian and English is always needed. Contact in English, Russian or German.
The Great Baikal Trail Association - Irkutsk Office
The Great Baikal Trail Association supports the growth of ecotourism in the Baikal area by building a 1200 mile network of ecotrails. GBT has been supported by Greenpeace, EarthCorps, Rotary International, all 6 local nature parks, and many other organizations. Up to 250 volunteers work on trail projects each summer. In addition, volunteers can work during the year at the office on a variety of projects, including translation, running seminars, running educational programs for children, and web design. Contact in English or Russian.
The Tahoe-Baikal Institute
The Tahoe-Baikal Institute studies watershed systems, especially
Lake Tahoe in the United States and Lake Baikal in Russia. In addition to educational exchange programs run every summer (see website), volunteers may work in Irkutsk to support the local operations. Contact information on website.
Friends of the Great Baikal Trail
FGBT does fundraising for the Great Baikal Trail. Contact in English or Russian.
REAP International
REAP International is a US nonprofit organization that has worked on rural development, youth leadership and environmental activism in Buryatia since 1992. We seek short and long-term volunteers for work with village kids who are developing Youth Acitivty Centers, including development of their own small businesses; English teachers for villages, for up to year assignments; participation on our 6th International Green Walk and other general volunteering. Inquire at in English or Russian.
Sister's Center for Sexual Assault Recovery
SCSAR runs a sexual assault hotline, conducts seminars and publishes information about assualt and trafficking. It is also actively engaged in working with governmental bod
ies and other similar organizations around the CIS. Please contact in English or Russian.
Greenpeace Russia
Volunteers at Greenpeace are actively involved in research and campaigns. They also organize ecological inspections, looking for violations of environmental law. In the summers, Greenpeace office members (including volunteers) pick up trash in city parks. In the spring, there are frequently business trips around central Russia. Greenpeace also maintains an office in St. Petersburg.
Initiative for Social Action and Renewal in Eurasia
Novosibirsk Regional Special Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired
NRSL promotes progress of people with various kinds of disabilities on the basis of providing conditions for their free access to information, education and values of culture; forms tolerant attitude in the society to the citizens excluded from social life due to various reasons. NRSL works with a number of organizations, including Rotary. Volunteers can assist in translation, recording of audio books, teaching the blind and visually impaired new adaptive technologies, and building contacts with similar organizations around the world. Contact in English or Russian.
DIMSI Perm
The Perm branch of the All-Russian NGO Children and Youth Social Initiatives. Possibly the most active and wide-spread social organization in Perm, DIMSI Perm provides and promotes a wide range of children's and youth programs in the Perm area. It is based on volunteer labor, and hopes to additionally set up "working camps" in the near future for foreign volunteers. Contact DIMSI in English or Russian at .
The Foundation for International Professional Exchange.
Contact Igor Toloshin. Phone: 316-2216. (see also Ukraine)
Mothers of Soldiers of St. Petersburg
Mothers of Soldiers is an advocacy group for soldiers. It is concerned with the abuse and mistreatment of soldiers. "We protect our sons." Contact or for more information.
Greenpeace Russia
See Moscow section.
South-Kuzbasky Center for Protection of Human Rights, Mezhdurechensk Branch
Located in Mezhdurechensk in the Kemerovskaya Oblast'. Phone: 4-19-19. Email: . Director: Svyatoslav Vladimirovich Maksimov.
Organiztion for Children with Disabilities and Adults with Disibilities from Childhood in Dzerzhinsk.Volunteers may work with children and adults with disabilities. Contact .
The NIS/CIS
Vilnius children and youth club "Darija"
Pylimo g. 20-2, Vilnius, Lithuania
E-mail: in English.
The Center for Adult Education in Karabalta.
The center focuses primarily on woman, teenagers and the jobless. It runs short-term courses for professional and civic education. The center maintains two websites: and They can be reached at or in English or Russian.
The Foundation for International Professional Exchange.
Contact Natasha Zdanovich or call .
More to come soon. If you represent an organization and would like to be place on our list, please email us.
Other suggestions
Civil Society will post requests for volunteer work on its message board (click here).
You may also consider the grant- and fellowship-granting organizations listed here.
Another possibility is to simply email NGOs and ask if they are interested in yo
ur help. The majority will not respond and many no longer exist, so keep trying! Here are a few large lists of Russian NGOs:
Women's Information Network Russian women's organizations .
Tiresias's list of Agencies serving the blind and visually-impaired in the CNS.
EuroNet's list of women's organizations.
Civil Society's NGO list for the NIS
Fernetzt is a site for "travelers who want to join environmentally- and socially-minded projects around the world." It's not specifically Russian, but may nonetheless contain useful information.
-Last updated September 11, 2005.