According to Primakov, the new legislation is essential to make Russia’s overseas engagement more effective and transparent.
“I’m not saying we’re going to compete with USAID—it would be ambitious enough just to match what Finland is doing with its development agency,” he said. “The problem is that, for Russia to accomplish anything meaningful abroad that might impact its influence, we currently have to issue a separate government decree each time.”
Primakov also lamented the outdated image of Russia’s cultural centers abroad, known as Russian Houses.
“Right now, they’re seen as dull, dusty places where babushkas race to eat balalaikas,” he quipped. “Previously, the agency had no mandate to influence anything… But we live in an active world—and we must act accordingly.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently announced the termination of USAID operations. According to Rubio, the agency’s assistance programs served mostly to enrich the leaders of countless NGOs, “who often enjoyed a five-star lifestyle funded by the American taxpayer.”
Rubio stated that going forward, foreign aid programs aligned with the administration’s policies and interests would be administered directly by the State Department. “Where once aid came adorned with a rainbow of unrecognizable logos, it will now carry a single, unmistakable symbol: the American flag,” he emphasized.
