In 2010, the independent non-profit organisation ‘Russian Humanitarian Mission’ was established in Russia; one of its founders and its first director-general was Yevgeny Alexandrovich Primakov, the grandson of the former Russian Prime Minister and former Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov. Like his grandfather, Primakov Jr is a specialist in the Middle East and, without a doubt, a member of the secret services. In 2020, he took over as head of Rossotrudnichestvo, whilst remaining chairman of the supervisory board of the ANO “Russian Humanitarian Mission”. 
Sergei Grigoryevich Shevchuk succeeded Primakov as head of the ‘Russian Humanitarian Mission’. No information could be found in the open press regarding who else founded this organisation, who funds it, to whom it reports, or what the word ‘autonomous’ in its name signifies. Nor is there any information available on the biography of its current head, apart from the fact that he holds higher education qualifications in law and economics.  The ANO is registered at the address: Moscow, Bersenevsky Lane, 2, building 1, but it does not appear on the list of organisations located there. The address given on the RGM website is Kalashny Lane, 4. 
The press mentions another RGM employee, Yevgeny Yevgenyevich Poddubny, a war correspondent and coordinator of the ‘Russian Humanitarian Mission’ in Syria. Poddubny is included on the sanctions lists of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and Australia for supporting the aggression against Ukraine and for military propaganda. As reported by the ‘Official Journal of the European Union’, ‘Poddubny is a member of a working group established by President Putin in December 2022, whose remit includes coordinating Russia’s mobilisation efforts in support of its war of aggression against Ukraine. In addition to his role in the working group, he works as a war correspondent for the Russian state broadcaster VGTRK, spreading disinformation and pro-Kremlin propaganda about Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.” 
The website of the ANO ‘Russian Humanitarian Mission’ contains not a word about its history or structure. Nor, as is customary, are the names of any directors other than Shevchuk listed, nor is there any mention of the existence of a board of directors, a supervisory board, a board of trustees or partners… At the same time, the RHM’s activities are described in rather sparse terms:
‘The RHM is a team of professionals with many years’ experience in the field of international humanitarian work. The RHM develops and implements educational programmes, emergency aid programmes, medical programmes and humanitarian projects with full logistical support. Our mission is to assist people and communities in crisis situations arising from conflicts, natural disasters, catastrophes and poverty. RGM operates both in Russia and abroad. RGM adheres to universally recognised international principles of humanitarian aid: impartiality, transparency and non-remunerative provision. RGM is not a political organisation, but it acknowledges its connection with Russia. RGM’s activities contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.  
The list of professions among RGM’s staff is noteworthy: ‘doctors with experience in organising field missions; distinguished Russian rescue workers and world-class rescuers who have taken part in over 100 rescue operations worldwide; education specialists with experience in organising Russian schools abroad; volunteers who have saved dozens of lives; experienced specialists in logistics and route management in extreme conditions; war correspondents’. 
Such a range of activities, combined with the organisation’s complete lack of transparency and the absence of clear information regarding its structure, partners and sources of funding, directly points to its affiliation with the security services. Moreover, it makes no particular effort to conceal this affiliation or to disguise the RGI as a charitable foundation, as is the case elsewhere—for example, with the Soviet Peace Fund. 
Judging by press reports, the RGM is involved in supporting the study of the Russian language in a wide variety of countries and in delivering humanitarian aid to Syria and the part of Ukraine occupied by Russia. 
The geographical scope of the RGM’s activities can be gauged from Shevchuk’s interview with TASS on 18 April 2024. Over 500,000 textbooks were distributed in Armenia, Central Asia, the Balkans and Syria. A competition was organised for Russian language teachers from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The RGM’s own project is a Russian language textbook for Arabic-speaking schoolchildren. Work on this began under Primakov’s leadership in 2015. The majority of the textbooks were sent to Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. The RGM’s most important task is providing humanitarian aid to the DPR, the LPR, and the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, including along the front line. Large quantities of aid are being sent to Syria. 
There are two main areas of focus: the Middle East and the Balkans (Serbia and the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo). The RGM has had a representative office in Serbia since 2015. There are plans to operate in Libya. ‘Requests regarding the Russian language’ from Burundi, Libya, Eritrea and the Congo are currently being assessed. There are links with Latin America – Venezuela and Peru.  
Another source lists the following geographical scope of RGM’s projects: Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Cuba, Venezuela, Peru, Guinea, Armenia, Georgia, Serbia, Tajikistan and the Donbas.  However, there is virtually no information on what RGM staff actually do in all these countries, apart from distributing Russian language textbooks. Nor is there any information on partner organisations in any of these countries. 
Such an extensive network of business contacts spanning numerous countries across different continents would suggest the existence of a powerful coordination and management centre with a vast database, a team of country specialists and massive funding. However, as Shevchuk said in the same interview, ‘At present, we have no more than 20 people on staff. That said, we probably consider our team to consist of several hundred people around the world.’  Given the scale and geographical scope of the RHM’s activities, such a statement seems absurd. It is far more likely that such a centre with a powerful apparatus does exist, but is secret, and that the RHM is merely the tip of the iceberg – one of its sub-units, something like one of its transport departments serving the centre. It seems highly likely that the ‘Russian Humanitarian Mission’ is a departmental unit of one of the secret services (possibly the GRU, given the military rather than purely propaganda nature of its activities), not particularly diligent in its attempt to masquerade as a charitable foundation. 
The foundation’s website says a great deal about the volunteer movement it supports, but here is what the training of volunteers looked like in 2021: 
‘We are keen to expand the volunteer movement and are always happy to make new contacts. In September, a large-scale interregional training and field camp for volunteers took place in the village of Barsovo in the Surgut District (KhMAO-Ugra). Sergey Shevchuk, Director-General of the Russian Humanitarian Mission, attended the camp and met there with Natalya Komarova, Governor of Ugra, and Mikhail Bogoraz, a representative of the Russian Ministry of Defence. The parties discussed further cooperation, in particular the participation of volunteers from the region in humanitarian missions abroad. The Russian Humanitarian Mission and Yugra’s ‘Humanitarian Volunteer Corps’ signed a cooperation agreement, under which the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug becomes an active participant in our international projects – and some of these arrangements have already been implemented.”  
The ‘Siberian Legion’ Centre for Military and Applied Sports is located in the village of Barsovo. Here, the focus is more likely to be on training military volunteers for service in units such as the Wagner Group, rather than on volunteers from civilian charitable organisations. 
In August 2024, the Russian Humanitarian Mission announced its presence in Cyprus. A ‘collection of humanitarian aid for the population of the Kursk Region, suffering from attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine’ was announced.  Those involved in the collection and delivery of humanitarian aid included ‘Alexis Kuzalis, representative of the Association of Graduates of Russian and Soviet Universities; Vita Fedchenko, secretary of the Co-ordinating Council of Russian Compatriots (CCRS) in Cyprus, Vita Fedchenko, and representatives of the Youth Club of Russian Compatriots of the Republic of Cyprus, Alex Matsukis and David Sokolov”. 
In two batches, the following items were packed and delivered to Moscow: “saline solution, painkillers, antiseptic solutions, bandages, tourniquets, syringes, dressing materials, bed linen, pillows, blankets, towels, ready-to-eat food, nappies and sweets”.  
Cyprus has no direct air links with Russia; the boxes of humanitarian aid were flown to Moscow via Yerevan. The very idea of flying saline solution, pillows and blankets (which can indeed be seen in the photographs) from Cyprus to the Kursk Region seems absurd. It would be far simpler and cheaper to purchase all of this in Russia. Most likely, this campaign was a cover for some other, quite serious operation requiring the presence of representatives of the Russian Humanitarian Mission in Cyprus and the shipment from Cyprus to Russia of certain cargo—possibly cash—which Russia is in great need of. 
In October, this operation was repeated. Only this time, the Association of Graduates of Russian and Soviet Universities was named as the sender of the consignment. The official statement did not specify exactly what the association’s members had sent to the Kursk Region. Nor were there any prior announcements regarding the collection of humanitarian aid. Instead, certificates signed by Sergei Shevchuk were published, expressing gratitude to the association’s members – Alexis Kuzalis, Andreas Sfikouris, Christakis Kumbaras, Sophocles Sophocles and Panayotis Solomos.
Another campaign of this kind was carried out in November 2024 – “Alexis Kuzalis, a representative of the Cyprus Association of Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities, delivered another consignment of aid to the Moscow office of the Russian Humanitarian Mission, which was promptly sent to Kursk... In addition to the Alumni Association, the Co-ordinating Council of Russian Compatriots in the Republic and the Russian House in Cyprus took an active part in organising the collection.” As on the previous occasion, the aid collection was not announced in advance; information about the delivery to Moscow was published retrospectively. It is also unclear by what means the cargo was transported to Moscow. 
Judging by many indications, the Russian Humanitarian Mission is a transport unit of the security services which, under the guise of humanitarian aid, delivers cargo to various troubled regions of the world and to third countries.