Moscow Is Planning to Create Its Own USAID

For decades, USAID was one of the greatest tools America had to promote democratic values in Russia. The agency extended humanitarian assistance while fostering political reform, and in doing so endeared the United States to Russians even as it undercut the Kremlin’s authoritarian ambitions. It was a supreme example of soft power: working “through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion,” as the political scientist Joseph S. Nye Jr. defined the term. Then, in 2012, the Kremlin expelled USAID, a decision that seemed to confirm just how effective it had been.

So effective, in fact, that Moscow has now decided to create its own version. The Trump administration shut down USAID on July 1; one week later, a Russian-government official revealed that the regime planned to establish a deve