Welcome to the road: Russia will start sending volunteers abroad on humanitarian missions

Russia will make international volunteerism a part of government policy to promote "soft power." The Russian Federation will begin sending qualified volunteers abroad on a regular basis to humanitarian missions, Izvestia found out. This is stated in the plan for the development of volunteerism, which is planned to be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. The document is still being finalized. At the same time, some initiatives — such as paid days off for volunteering and KPIs for mayors — risk remaining only at the proposal stage.

How will international volunteering be organized in the Russian Federation?

Volunteering in modern Russia has long gone beyond the private hobby of enthusiasts. If at first it originated as a simple public initiative, then over time it was supported in the highest echelons of government. As a result, today the government has decided to bring the Russian volunteer movement to the international arena. This is stated in the developed plan for the development of volunteerism for 2026-2028. The text of the document is available to Izvestia: it was compiled by the Ministry of Economic Development and other departments with the participation of the Dobro ecosystem.RF" and Rosmolodezhi.

According to the plan, Russia should form an international volunteer reserve to provide targeted assistance abroad and strengthen the country's humanitarian authority there. The program involves sending volunteer assistance to other countries when missions are formed on request, and participants will be qualified specialists, such as doctors or restorers, the head of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy (United Russia), the head of Dobro, told Izvestia.Russian Federation" by Artem Metelev.

Unlike previous one-time actions, this measure is in the nature of a government program, which will allow for rapid response to humanitarian crises in foreign countries. All work will be carried out through the international version of the platform. dobro.org which makes it possible to place missions in a single catalog, select volunteers according to their qualifications and medical permits through personal accounts, conduct distance learning in specialized areas, keep records of time worked in an electronic volunteer book and generate transparent reporting for departments.

"In the near future, we plan to expand the functionality of the platform by creating a database of trusted host organizations in order, in accordance with the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation, to make the systematic dispatch of volunteers regular and covering not only the CIS countries, but also other regions of the world," said Artem Metelev.

In practice, any state will be able to ask Russia for help by forming an application with a clear description of the mission, accommodation, food and transfer conditions, the parliamentarian explained. In order to promptly coordinate departure and obtain visas, the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture will be involved in the work.

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What other measures can be included in the plan?

Work on the volunteerism development plan began after Mikhail Mishustin approved the concept of volunteerism development until 2030 in December 2025. Its goal is to involve at least 45% of young Russians in the movement. The plan covers not just the development of volunteer movements, but the formation of an entire ecosystem of social development, the Dobro.rf press service explained to Izvestia. It is designed to ensure that volunteering is systematic: so that those involved in volunteering stay in projects for a long time. Over the past two years, the share of Russians who participated in such assistance has increased from 27% to 36%. According to Rosstat, the number of volunteers involved in the work of NGOs increased from 3.2 million to 4.8 million in 2022-2024.

In addition to international volunteerism, it is planned to systematically involve volunteers in emergency response, introduce material and non-material incentive systems for them, and participate in the International Year of Volunteers, announced by the UN General Assembly. In total, the plan contains 46 measures of state support. The draft document is currently being finalized. After the completion of the procedures, it will be submitted for government approval, the Ministry of Energy told Izvestia. At the same time, the volunteer ecosystem is "Dobro.The Russian Federation, together with Rosmolodezh, is proposing additional state support measures that have not yet been included in the draft plan.

One of the ideas is to actively help local volunteering. In particular, it is proposed to include support for volunteerism and NGOs in the performance indicators of the heads of municipalities. This radically changes the logic of the work of mayors, for whom assistance to NGOs is moving from the category of optional tasks to the category of mandatory administrative responsibility. In order for officials to competently build work with activists, a large-scale personnel reset is proposed. The authorities undertake to organize professional retraining for 80% of the entire local bureaucracy.

Another initiative involves expanding the social protection of the volunteers themselves. For those who work in budget organizations, it is proposed to officially introduce paid time off from work so that people can help society without harming their careers. At the same time, today a number of large companies that attach great importance to volunteerism are already willing to provide additional days off for volunteers, Irina Zhukova, chairman of the National Council for Corporate Volunteerism, explained to Izvestia.

The development of such a plan shows that the state wants to channel volunteer energy. Now his task is to help those who are already in the ranks: not only on the front line, but also in the rear, in workshops, in the fields, Vladimir Taranenko, deputy head of the executive committee of the Popular Front, head of the Youth of the Popular Front, told Izvestia. "That's why the concept of volunteerism appeared until 2030 — to systematize what already exists and give people a real resource and support," he said.

Previously, volunteerism has repeatedly helped society and the authorities in times of crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Russian volunteers became a key link in the healthcare system, ensuring the delivery of medicines and food to the most vulnerable groups of the population. Volunteers in the free zone also play an important role. The LizaAlert search and rescue team, which today unites more than 40,000 volunteers across the country, has clearly proved that a civil initiative in conjunction with relevant departments such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Emergency Situations is capable of saving thousands of lives annually.