Directorate for Interregional Relations and Cultural Contacts with Foreign Countries

On February 22, 2005, at the order of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, Directorate for Interregional Relations and Cultural Contacts with Foreign Countries the (Управление Президента по межрегиональным и культурным связям с зарубежными странами) was created at the Presidential Administration. The Directorate is in charge of Presidential activities in terms of developing international connections for the Russian Federation. The main functions of the directorate include:  formulating and implementing projects in the field of inter-regional and cultural connections with foreign states in order to support the President in implementing country’s foreign policy strategies; informational-analytical support to the President and the Head of his Administration in the issues of inter-regional and cultural connections with foreign states.

One of the purposes of establishing this Directorate was to prevent the coming to power of pro-Western governments in the post-Soviet area, as well as supporting the governments loyal to Moscow. After the 2008 Russia-Georgia War, one of the priority areas for the Directorate became territories outside the control of the central Georgian government.

The first Head of the Directorate was Modest Kolerov, who was in charge of the formulation and implementation of the Kremlin’s policies against colorful revolutions in the post-Soviet area. Modest Kolerov headed the Directorate from March 21, 2005 to October 22, 2007. After Kolerov, his Deputy, Nikolai Tsvetkov, was appointed as the Head of the Directorate from October 22, 2007 to May 7, 2008, replaced by Sergei Vinokurov from July 3, 2008. Vinokurov headed the Directorate until April 27, 2012. According to popular opinion, in 2012 he fell victim to unsuccessfulness of the Kremlin’s policies in Tskhinvali Region and Transnistria as the candidates supported by the Kremlin failed to win in the illegitimate elections held in those regions that year. From June 9, 2012, Vladimir Chernov was appointed as the Head of the Directorate, who, together with his Deputy, Sergei Chebotarev, curated the implementation of the Kremlin’s policies in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region.

From 2008 to 2013, the Directorate was a leading public structure in formulating and implementing the Kremlin’s policies with regard to Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region. From September 2013, after the appointment of Vladislav Surkov as an Advisor at the Presidential Administration, the role of the Directorate was weakened and its functions were incorporated by the Directorate for Social-Economic Cooperation with CIS Member States and the Republic of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, (on October 2018, this Directorate was replaced by the Directorate for Cross-Border Cooperation).