Russia’s Contribution to International Development Assistance

For the past two decades, the role of Russia in international development assistance has changed dramatically. While in late 1990s to early 2000s Russia was among the largest borrowers from international financial institutions, currently the country is in transition to becoming a donor. Since 2005 the total amount of Russia’s official development assistance has grown 12 times and reached US$1.2 billion a year. The country has clearly defined a state policy in supporting international development which is broadly followed in practice. The two key trends include (i) a switch from “traditional” multilateral support mechanisms like cooperation with the World Bank, UNDP, and so on to support new South-South international development instruments, namely the institutes established in cooperation with other BRICS countries and (ii) a growing share of bilateral assistance in the total of international development assistance. While both trends are likely to be long term, the effectiveness of Russia’s contribution to international development assistance, especially in bilateral programs, still largely depends on improving interagency coordination and building capacity in managing international aid inside the government.