In 2011, the Russian government established the ‘autonomous non-profit organisation’ Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI). The chairman of the supervisory board is Vladimir Putin. The first director-general was Andrei Nikitin (since 2017, Governor of the Novgorod Region). She was succeeded by Svetlana Chupsheva.  The ASI’s objectives are, as usual, vaguely formulated – ‘…to implement a range of measures in the economic and social spheres. In particular, to promote priority projects, implement measures to improve the business environment in Russia, develop professional personnel, and so on’  On the ASI website, the wording is even more vague – “ASI is an ‘agent of change’ working alongside leaders on large-scale initiatives and uniting the efforts of society, business and the state” In July 2022, ASI and Rossotrudnichestvo agreed to jointly promote Russian educational projects in other countries.  This was most likely due to the fact that Rossotrudnichestvo, together with the ‘Russkiy Mir’ Foundation, came under EU sanctions in July 2022 and lost the legal ability to fund their projects. As ASI’s Chief Operating Officer Georgy Belozerov stated, “For us, Rossotrudnichestvo is a very close partner with whom we enjoy and are able to work.” The parties planned to open digital colleges in Cyprus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in 2022–2023.