The Board is convinced that the Institute has an ongoing, important role to play in Russia and is committed to supporting existing and new educational initiatives, including expansion of the English Language School and training programs for Christian counselors that equip them to address significant areas of need. The Institute’s Russian and American leadership are exploring other opportunities to strengthen the nation’s civil society and Christian community through programs that Russians will value and support.

In addition, the Institute’s leadership is considering initiatives to build relationships between the next generation of leaders in Russia and America and educational and training programs involving the Russian Orthodox Church and evangelical churches.

This refocusing effort necessitates the suspension of the current undergraduate program at RAI, which the Institute will carefully phase out over the course of the remainder of this academic year. Because of a dramatic reduction in birth rates in the early 1990s, Russia is experiencing an unprecedented decrease in college-age young people, and this 50 percent drop in potential applicants has resulted in a series of federal policies designed to protect state universities as opposed to small private universities. This evolving context of the educational realities in Russia, together with the new opportunities for development, led to the Board’s decision to suspend the undergraduate program.

Dr. John A. Bernbaum, President of the Russian-American Institute, summarized his thoughts on these changes as follows: “The leadership of the Institute, while saddened by the suspension of the undergraduate program, is excited about the future of these new initiatives. It is a new day at the Institute – the beginning of a new stage in the Institute’s development.”

November 19, 2010