US Agency for International Development

In accordance with the charter, the main areas of work of the Agency include support for trade, agriculture, economic growth, healthcare, emergency humanitarian assistance, assistance in conflict prevention and support for democracy in developing countries ^[2] .

The USAID Act was signed by President John F. Kennedy in November 1961. ^[3] For the first time, one of the US state institutions has completely focused on long-term assistance in the economic and social development of other countries, combining the functions of several previously existing organizations ^[4] . About 1% of the US federal budget is allocated annually to finance the programs of this organization. The agency has representative offices in most countries of the world.

The creation of the agency was the result of work to streamline disparate programs of American international assistance, based on the Marshall Plan , according to which the United States assisted post-war Europe and which ended in June 1951 .

USAID worked in the Russian Federation from 1992 to 2012. According to the organization, “USAID’s main areas of activity are economic and democracy development, healthcare, conflict prevention and emergency humanitarian assistance” ^[5] . The agency participated in the development of the draft constitution of the Russian Federation https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/fact-sheets/usaid-russia. The Agency collaborated with both government bodies and a number of non-governmental organizations ^[6] : the Moscow Helsinki Group ^[7] , the Gaidar Institute ^[8] , the Golos Association , Memorial Society , Transparency International ^[9] , the organization of disabled people "Perspective" ^[10] and others. USAID also participated in financing the work of UNAIDS in the Russian Federation ^[10] . Over two decades of work in Russia, the total amount of all agency projects amounted to about $ 2.7 billion ^[11] .

In September 2012, Russian authorities notified the United States of their decision to terminate USAID's activities in the Russian Federation ^[12] . The essence of Moscow’s claims to the organization was announced by the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Lukashevich ^{[13] [14]} :

“The nature of the work of the Agency’s representatives in our country did not always meet the stated goals of promoting the development of bilateral humanitarian cooperation. We are talking about attempts to influence through the distribution of grants on political processes, including elections at various levels and civil society institutions. Serious questions were raised by AMP activity in Russian regions, especially in the North Caucasus, which we have repeatedly warned our American colleagues about. ”

According to a report published on the agency’s website, USAID assistance, in particular, had a direct impact on the adoption of the Russian Land Code in 2001, which allowed it to buy, sell and own land property, and also influenced the development of draft Russian Constitution , the first part of the Civil Code RF and the Tax Code of the Russian Federation ^[15] .

Moscow gave a deadline of October 1 for the agency to close its Russian offices. September 18, 2012 the United States announced the closure of activities in Russia. The representative of the US Department of State, Victoria Nuland, said in this regard ^[5] :

We are very proud of what USAID has achieved in Russia over the past two decades. <...> Although USAID’s physical presence in Russia has come to an end, we remain committed to supporting democracy, human rights, and developing a healthy civil society in Russia. We strive to continue cooperation with Russian non-governmental organizations.

At the same time, according to Kommersant newspaper, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asking the Russian authorities to extend the work of the USAID office until May 2013 ^[14] .

Russian human rights activists expressed concern about the termination of USAID in Russia ^[5] . And in a number of organizations receiving funding from the agency, they did not exclude the curtailment of their activities ^[14] .

Through its Department of Transition Initiatives, The (OTI) agency finances subversive operations, such as ZunZuneo against the Cuban government ^[16] , which are not even notified to the US Congress (in 2009, a Congress report mentioned that OTI’s work often leads to political consequences that could cause diplomatic troubles ^[16] ) Costs for these purposes are masked in other budget items - for example, ZunZuneo financing was presented as project costs in Pakistan .

After articles about ZunZuneo appeared in newspapers, some congressmen reacted negatively. Patrick Lehi said, “the secret operation to change the government should not be conducted through USAID” ^[17] .

Another scandal at the end of 2014 was associated with an attempt to create a youth anti-government movement in Cuba using Cuban rappers , who did not even suspect that they were working for the United States. The operation used Serbian contractors hired through the English. Creative Associates International in Washington. Funding was provided through a shell company in Panama and a bank in Liechtenstein. The complexity of the scheme led to the fact that the US Treasury blocked banking operations, considering them an attempt to undermine the Cuban embargo ^[18] .

William Blum noted that in the 1960s and 1970s, USAID worked closely with the CIA - CIA agents often operated abroad under the cover of USAID ^[19] .

• USAID official website
• USAID Russia, official website