Peace Corps in limbo: For the first time since the U.S. Peace Corps began sending volunteers to Russia in 1992, there will not be an incoming group this year.

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Russia: Peace Corps Russia : Web Links for Russia RPCVs: Peace Corps in limbo: For the first time since the U.S. Peace Corps began sending volunteers to Russia in 1992, there will not be an incoming group this year.

By Admin1 (admin) on Saturday, July 07, 2001 - 6:12 pm: Edit Post

Peace Corps in limbo



Peace Corps in limbo: For the first time since the U.S. Peace Corps began sending volunteers to Russia in 1992, there will not be an incoming group this year.

Peace Corps in limbo

By Mike Eckel

For the first time since the U.S. Peace Corps began sending volunteers to Russia in 1992, there will not be an incoming group this year.

Peace Corps’ Russian Far East director Scott Bowles confirmed May 21 that 92 volunteers who had been scheduled to arrive in Russia June 21, including 40 for the Russian Far East, have been re-assigned to postings in other countries.

The cancellation of this year’s Russian group follows changes in the federal bodies overseeing Peace Corps and delays in technical and visa negotiations, after the appointment of the new government in March. Despite the hold-ups, however, Bowles said Peace Corps administrators have been told by federal officials that the delay is "not an issue with the Peace Corps organization itself."

The Far East office had been expecting approximately 40 volunteers for work in English instruction, environmental education, and small business education. "We are not actively looking to shut to down the office," said Bowles. "We are doing everything we can to keep a presence here in Russia."

Peace Corps has frequently fallen under scrutiny by Russian officials, both at the federal and at local levels, since the first volunteers arrived in 1992. National and local press have periodically published articles accusing Peace Corps volunteers of being spies for the U.S. government, and volunteers in remote settings have routinely been harassed by local officials.

"Most of the negative perceptions people have about the Peace Corps are completely false," said Bowles.

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