The partnership between the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Full Funding programme started in 2018. In the context of the Year of the Volunteer, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNV signed the first agreement to deploy Russian citizens as fully funded international UN Volunteers.
Since then, and despite the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic posed on the implementation of the UNV Full Funding Programme, a total of 39 Russian fully funded UN Volunteers have been supporting the development and humanitarian efforts of the UN worldwide.
During 2023, 71 Russian nationals served as UN Volunteers, 17 of them fully funded by the Government.
In its Voluntary National Review (VNR) the Government of the Russian Federation reported on this collaboration: "The Russian Federation is also cooperating with the UN Volunteers programme. The cooperation resulted in a project of sending Russian expert volunteers to developing countries to assist national development and improve living standards."
For further information, visit the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Also refer to UNV's Annual Report 2023, including our Special Voluntary Fund and Full Funding reports.