"UN Foundation" (the name predominantly used in its own materials), UN Assistance Foundation, Nizhny Novgorod UN Assistance Foundation, UN Assistance Foundation in Nizhny Novgorod etc. — a regional non-profit public organization that uses the name of the United Nations.[1] It employs symbolism that imitates the symbols of UN institutions in Russia and resembles registered UN marks to the point of confusion. Proposals to cooperate under UN programs, to hold hearings on the Internet law (distributing students around the world, accepting donations, conducting training) — copied from the official websites of UN programs — likewise create the impression of specially authorized representatives.

In reality, the foundation has no affiliation with UN structures,[1][2] and moreover, legal proceedings against the organization are currently being prepared by the UN's central legal department in New York.

The foundation has a Moscow office,[3] but its public activity is concentrated solely in Nizhny Novgorod, where its Secretary-General is based.

The foundation was established on 23 May 2008.

It has been recognized as an organization carrying out socially beneficial (social) projects (programs) in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, and as a result received state support in 2011.[4]

Nature of the Phenomenon

UN Foundation engages in fundraising and presents itself in its materials as a subsidiary structure of the United Nations. Given the project's technical execution, which is weak even by the standards of the capital, its outreach has focused primarily on the administration of Nizhny Novgorod and major organizations in the Region. A contractor who fulfilled advertising orders for the foundation complained in a review on the Free-lance.ru exchange that the work had not been paid for.[5]

The organization's website reproduces the style of authorized UN bodies; in news feed posts it is referred to as the "UN Foundation"; content copied from the UN Information Centre in Russia is used to populate the site, and so on and so forth. These mimicry techniques are designed to create the image of one of the "UN agencies" — such a requirement was put forward by the client who commissioned the foundation's official website and promotional materials [2].[6] Until recently, the foundation's website displayed the official UN logo alongside its own materials.

Authority

  • The Secretary-General of the UN Foundation is psychiatrist Kamin Andrey Aleksandrovich.[1]
  • Responsible for forming the expert council of the "Union of Journalists at the UN Foundation" and for raising the ethical standards of those journalists is Nizhny Novgorod political commentator Konstantin Baranovskiy.[7] [3] (archive)

Formal Statutory Objectives

« UN Foundation. United Nations

Regional Public Foundation for Cooperation with the UN. We would like to propose collaboration within the framework of our statutory activities.

The Foundation's statutory objectives include:

  • Cooperation with existing bodies of the United Nations and its specialized agencies in pursuit of the goals and principles set out in the Charter of the United Nations
  • Providing comprehensive assistance in the implementation of programs and activities carried out by the United Nations and its bodies in the fields of education, healthcare, and environmental protection;
  • Participating in the process of promoting the activities of the United Nations on the territory of the Russian Federation and abroad....[2]
 »


A key line of statutory activity is waging a broad campaign against the misunderstanding, belittling, and even outright ignoring of the Russian Federation's achievements in space exploration — a disreputable pursuit engaged in by a number of foreign countries.

The "UN Foundation" pins particular hopes for success on the failures of the space programs of the United States of America:


« In addition, our public association runs a program to promote the achievements of the Russian Federation in the field of space exploration. At present, these achievements are being downplayed or ignored by a number of foreign countries. At the same time, owing to a series of setbacks in the United States' space programs, Russia is in fact the world's leading space power. Yet this fact is being unjustly suppressed.[2]
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The "UN Foundation's" interaction with government authorities

News as reported in the news feed of the foundation's official website. Original spelling and punctuation have been preserved.

The UN Foundation and the State Duma of the Russian Federation organize a discussion on the Internet law

"The UN Foundation and the State Duma of the Russian Federation are organizing a public discussion on the Internet law.

Draft federal law "On Amendments and Additions to the Federal Law 'On Information, Information Technologies, and the Protection of Information' regarding the establishment of specific features of state regulation of activities carried out using global computer networks." Following a meeting of the working group on improving legislation in the field of Mass Media of the United Russia parliamentary group, chaired by First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation O.V. Morozov, the draft law is set to undergo broad public discussion.

The comments, proposals, and amendments you put forward in the public discussion will be reviewed by the working group of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies, and Communications, and will be taken into account in the further revision of the draft.

Your participation is needed. Details are available on the website of State Duma deputy (from the United Russia party — ed.) Olga Vladimirovna Noskova. Write to us or by e-mail: noskova@duma.gov.ru"

archived copy

The UN Foundation, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, invites participation in a public review of the Law on Education

The UN Foundation and the UN Information Centre (the reference to the UN Information Centre is deliberate: unlike the "foundation," it is an official UN body — ed. of the Encyclopedia) invite participation in a public review of the Law on Education.

The UN Foundation, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, has organized a discussion — a public review of Chapter 12 ("General Education") of the draft Law on Education. Your participation is needed:

Unfortunately, Article 111, "Specific Features of the Provision of General Education for Persons with Disabilities," has attracted little interest from the general public. Its content is barely being discussed: edu.crowdexpert.ru/edu/111

We invite everyone who cares about what the new Law on Education will look like with regard to persons with special educational needs to take an active part in discussing, commenting on, and editing it.

By participating in the public review of the Law on Education, you join the many other engaged citizens taking part in a real exercise in public lawmaking. You can not only read the text of the draft law, but also leave your comments, propose your own versions of individual clauses, and select the best suggestions. Your opinion and your contribution matter regardless of who you are — a government official, a parent of a future, former, or current schoolchild, a schoolchild yourself, or simply someone who cares.

The most active and constructive co-authors will be invited to take part in meetings of the working group on the draft federal law "On Education in the Russian Federation."

[4],

archived copy

Role-playing suicide games with the support of the administration of Nizhny Novgorod

"Website of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese — Marina Druzhkova

Today, Nizhny Novgorod hosted a seminar titled "A Responsible Approach to Covering Violence and Suicide in the World," organized by the administration of Nizhny Novgorod in partnership with the UN Support Foundation. The event was held as part of the WHO's global suicide prevention programme SUPRE and the municipal project "Youth of Nizhny Novgorod." The organizers' goal is to provide educational information that will help reduce the number of suicides. Participating in the seminar were counselors from the city's crisis hotlines, primary healthcare workers, and journalists. The seminar was led by Kamin Andrey, Secretary-General of the UN Support Foundation, and Balakин MikhailBalakin Mikhail, a psychologist at the Emergency Psychological Assistance Center of Moscow City Psychological-Pedagogical University and a member of the Council of the Russian Association of Emergency Mental Health Hotlines.[8]

In a live-discussion format, working in groups and modeling various life perspectives on the issue of suicide, participants discussed the factors that drive people to take their own lives.

The counselors asked journalists not to glorify, idealize, or dramatize death.

For more information about UN programmes, contact: un@unfd.ru or by phone: +7(831)415-61-22"

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Fundraising: "Donations to UNICEF programmes can be made directly on our website"

« UN Foundation. United Nations.

The Regional Public Foundation for UN Support would like to propose cooperation within the framework of its statutory activities.

Make a donation online

A donation to UNICEF programs can be made directly on our website using a bank card or the Yandex Money or WebMoney electronic payment systems.

For bank card transactions, the secure server of the Chronopay payment system is used.

We have done everything possible to protect your personal data from unauthorized access.

Make a contribution

Other ways to make a contribution

Our banking details: TIN 9909079526 KPP 773863001 Account No. 40807810900500783079 at ZAO CB "Citibank", Moscow Correspondent account: 30101810300000000202 BIC 044525202 Payment type: charitable transfer

The amount of your donation is determined by you, based on your means. A contribution can be made in one of the following ways:

Cash deposit to the UNICEF account

You can deposit a cash donation to the UNICEF account at any branch of Uralsib Bank at the individual payment counter. Please have the above UNICEF banking details with you.

Bank transfer

Suitable for those who have a bank account, for example at Sberbank. Any operator at your bank branch will be able to process a donation transfer using the above banking details. You can also set up a monthly automatic deduction of a specified amount from your account to the UNICEF account. Any amount, even a very small one that plays no significant role in your family's budget, when combined with contributions from other people, can do a great deal for children.

Credit/debit card transfer

Transfers from a credit/debit card can be made at the bank that issued your card. Any operator at your bank will be able to process such a transfer using the above banking details. In addition, if your bank has a telephone customer service system or internet banking, you will be able to transfer funds to our account by contacting an operator by phone or through your bank's website.

Please note! The credit cards of some banks do not allow a simple transfer of funds from one account to another due to restrictions imposed by the banks themselves.

For further information about UN programs, please contact: un@unfd.ru or by phone: +7(831)415-61-22

Back to the main page Contact information: Moscow office: 105120, Moscow, Nizhnyaya Syromyatnicheskaya St., building 5/7, tel. +7(495)916-7544

Nizhny Novgorod office: 603146, Nizhny Novgorod, Zayarskaya., building 18, office 1, tel. +7(831)415-61-22[3]
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saved copy

Technical specifications for the website and advertising of the "UN Foundation"

Quoted from the job postings by employer InterSolar on Freelance.ru http://www.free-lance.ru/users/InterSolar.[6]

"Made in the style of other UN agencies"

Budget: $100 The design of the UN Foundation website needs to be finished. The UN Foundation website www.unfd.ru has no design. There is a placeholder, but it's unfinished. It needs to be done. Design is not the main focus — the site is informational, made in the style of other UN agencies. Examples: www.ctbto.org/ — note the slideshow on the front page. www.undp.org/ Example on the site; upon ordering we will send source files. Who can do it?″

"See www.whitehouse.gov"; "Replace Pussycat Dolls and similar English text with any text from the UN Foundation site"

″New Year layout for the UN Foundation website Need to lay out 2 pages for the UN Foundation (main + inner) for Joomla. Source file: www.unfd.ru/oon.zip Design is not the main focus — the site is informational, made in the style of other UN agencies. Preferred: valid markup, compatible with all common browsers — IE, FF, Opera, Chrome, Safari. For animation — see www.whitehouse.gov/ or olganoskova.ru/ The image at the top and the semi-transparent menu with text on it should change every 5 seconds. If Pause is pressed — the image and text do not change. Play — 1 step forward. Forward/back arrows — one step forward/back. How to do it — for example using JavaScript + jQuery. See the example sites. In the upper right, in the area below the icons but slightly above the search bar, leave a small text field (a phone number may go there later).

The labels on the tabs at the top — Home, Press Center, Projects, etc. — should be real text in case we want to change them. There should be some simple hover effect. There are 6 tabs in total (5 in the mockup). No rush on the deadline (before 11.01.11). The main thing is that everything is done neatly! If needed, text for the layout can be taken from the UN Foundation website www.unfd.ru/ Replace Pussycat Dolls and similar English text with any text from the UN Foundation site. Otherwise the UN Foundation management won't understand us )

If you can mount the result on Joomla — let us know. Happy New Year to everyone!″

Revision of the UN Foundation booklet design (per the contractor's review: "never paid anything")[5]

″Revision of the UN Foundation booklet design We created a booklet design for the UN charitable foundation in Russia. Here is the front side: www.unfd.ru/found1.jpg Here is the inside: www.unfd.ru/found2.jpg These are the 2 sides of the booklet. There is a fold in the middle. Take a look and let us know what you think could be changed or added... Interested in both the design and any other possible elements... Deadline is about a week.″

″October 21, Tuesday

UN Foundation Social Advertising

"January 27, Thursday

Budget: 600 r. Social advertising for the UN Foundation – 3×6 banner layout A 3×6 layout at 360dpi is needed for UN Foundation social advertising at www.unfd.ru. A rough idea of the appearance has been sketched out here. Banner text: UN Foundation Want to participate in UN humanitarian and social projects in Russia? Call 4156-122 Volunteer training and internships. And a photo on the left – young students? Deadline: 1 day

6 proposals

Download (jpg; 110.62 KB)

Time since publication: 8 months 14 days 23 hours 05 minutes Author: intersolar total [InterSolar] Section: Design / Outdoor Advertising"

List of foundation news and campaigns

The Foundation's initial activities paint the following picture. The bulk of what is claimed consists of appropriating others' accomplishments (for example, "organized ICamp Russia 2009") or represents unfulfilled statements of intent (such as the sweeping "discussions" and campaigns jointly announced with federal agencies).

As a result of painstaking work, in 2012 a group of private individuals and the Nizhny Novgorod UN Foundation established the "Nizhny Novgorod Correspondents' Union," which is open to "professional journalists, bloggers, marketing and PR specialists aged 18 and over." Membership requires two published works and a recommendation.[9]

The "Correspondents' Union" has the right to nominate journalists for competitions held by the United Nations.[7] To enter a competition, one must choose a UN area of activity as the topic, write a substantive article, publish it, and submit it to the Nizhny Novgorod UN Foundation.


« On June 18, a press conference dedicated to the creation of the Nizhny Novgorod Correspondents' Union was held at the AiF-NN press center.[10]

Konstantin Baranovskiy, Chairman of the Union, said: "The idea for the Union did not come by chance. It all grew out of conversations with colleagues: we discussed how it would be good to create an organization that would protect journalists' rights, hold seminars and professional development courses, where journalists — experienced and not so much — could share their expertise. I approached Andrey Kamin (chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod UN Foundation), and we created the Nizhny Novgorod Correspondents' Union, which now specializes in international and economic journalism. Our Union includes not only journalists but also bloggers, PR specialists, advertisers, and marketers. We invite active bloggers and editors to come and talk together and perhaps begin new collaborations with the Nizhny Novgorod Correspondents' Union and the UN Foundation. That would be worthwhile."

The Union is in negotiations with universities about cooperation in order to hold seminars, master classes, and press conferences on their premises.
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« (NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — Inna Kart) A correspondents' union has been established in Nizhny Novgorod. This was announced on June 18 to journalists by the chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod Correspondents' Union, Konstantin Baranovskiy.

According to him, the founders of the union include a group of private individuals and the Nizhny Novgorod UN Support Foundation.

The union currently has 12 members, and recruitment is ongoing. Professional journalists, bloggers, and marketing and PR specialists aged 18 and over are eligible to join the Nizhny Novgorod Correspondents' Union. Membership requires two published works and a recommendation.

The aim of the Nizhny Novgorod Correspondents' Union is both to protect journalists' rights (assistance with obtaining professional liability insurance, legal information and support) and to provide education (holding seminars with experts from various fields, assistance with participation in various competitions organized by the UN).

"It should be noted that on our part there is no antagonism toward the Journalists' Union of Nizhny Novgorod. We have a somewhat different area of activity. But in any case, competition is a good thing," explained Konstantin Baranovskiy.

The organizers of the correspondents' union believe that thanks to the professional association it will be easier to obtain access to "direct" information in Nizhny Novgorod. In addition, there will be an opportunity to interact with foreign correspondents' unions.[9]
 »


Creative Unions

UN Foundation comprehensively promotes the highest forms of creative endeavor. This conclusion can be drawn from the list of various unions presented in a single section on the official website.

A Writers' Union of its own has been established under the Secretary-General. The section, however, contains not a single letter of content. In addition to it, there are 8 more accessible unions: of journalists, architects, photographers, designers, cinematographers, artists, florists, and, finally, composers; the titles of the activists all end without exception with the words "under the UN Foundation," which cannot but delight the elitarians. [5].[11]

As of February 1, 2012, the most active has been the Journalists' Union: K. Baranovskiy has been appointed chief officer for ethics and for conducting explanatory work "regarding the goals, objectives, and activities of the UN."[7]

« Union of Journalists

Priority objectives:

1. Explanatory and educational work within the journalism community regarding the goals, objectives, and activities of the UN.

2. Professional development of Union members and the community at large.

4. International exchange of experience and assistance from UN structures, foundations, and unions related to journalism and the realization of journalists' rights.

3. Promoting the growth of ethical standards within the journalism community and advancing high professional standards.

Extract from the minutes:

On the proposal of Kamin A. A., to entrust the development of the project to establish an expert council of journalists under the Foundation to Konstantin Baranovskiy on a voluntary basis.
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Payment Details

Nizhny Novgorod Regional Public Foundation for the Promotion of the United Nations

Account No. 40703810700100000378 at OJSC ACB "AVANGARD" Correspondent account: No. 30101810000000000201 at the Operations Department of the Moscow Main Territorial Directorate of the Bank of Russia BIC: 044525201

Registry Status

The organization's primary activity is listed as "Activities of other public organizations not included in other groupings" (as registered). The legal entity NIZHEGORODSKY FOND SODEYSTVIYA OON is registered in the city of Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod Region) at the address: 603122, NIZHNY NOVGOROD, VYACHESLAVA SHISHKOVA ST., building 7, block 1, apt. 4. The enterprise is headed by Kamin Andrey Aleksandrovich (Manager). The organization was registered on August 14, 2008, under registration number 1085200003998 (OGRN) with the state registration authority of the Federal Tax Service Directorate for Nizhny Novgorod Region.[1]

http://www.b2b-project.ru

The UN Foundation carries out the following registered types of activity

  • Non-political public organization
  • Provides advertising services
  • Conducts research and development in the social sciences and humanities
  • Publishing
  • Carries out debt collection, exhibition organization, design and presentation, copyright protection, and more

Contacts

The data is taken from the official website and may not reflect current information, which is especially true of the phone number of the so-called "Nizhny Novgorod office"

Address

  • 105120, Moscow, Nizhnyaya Syromyatnicheskaya St., building 5/7[3]

Phone

Reception
  • 8 (495) 916-7544[3]

Email

Address

Option 1: at the bottom of each page of the website
Option 2: in the contacts section

Phone

  • 8 (831) 415-61-22[3]

Official Website

Early version of the official website

Facebook Group

Private forum of the "UN Foundation" on nn.ru

A list of grants from other organizations is regularly published on the forum

The UN Foundation and the central office

Thread "TOPIC: Greetings from Kat – a long-time NN.RU user (Katya Pugacheva – translator)" on the City Forum of NN.RU.

— mkv. Could you tell us more about this story?

— Kat.

There's really not much to tell: at my colleagues' request, I inquired with our legal department about whether the organization "UN Assistance Foundation" has any connection to the UN and why they are using our logo on their website. The legal department told me they are preparing some documents on the matter, instructing the foundation to cease certain activities in connection with this — I don't know the specifics yet, our bureaucratic machine is slow to get moving.

— mkv.

Thank you for the reply. I see, the organization "UN Assistance Foundation"

— Kat. They are preparing a document called a cease and desist — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cease_and_desist. In a nutshell, something along the lines of "stop or we'll sue."

— vladmirr.

They should at least do it publicly (post the text on the official site) — so others think twice before doing the same.

— Kat.

Our procedure requires going through official channels only. Copies will be sent to the UN office in Moscow and to the Russian Federation's Permanent Mission to the UN.

Discussions of the Foundation's activities

Interesting facts

  • The title of pages on the previous version of the website contains a notable grammatical error: "UN Foundation. Organisation of Obʼyedinennykh Natsiy" — a soft sign used instead of a hard sign in the name of the main organization being represented.[2]
  • The professional design for the foundation's website was commissioned on Freelance.ru with the specification "like other UN agencies." The cost of the work was $100.[6]
  • While developing social advertising for the foundation, Freelance.ru community member Olga Chichilina left a review about the client: "I was finalizing the design of a UN Foundation booklet — he kept stalling on time, stalling on replies, and in the end paid nothing… Negative, completely negative"[5] (saved copy of the employer review: [7]). The value of Olga's contract was $50.[6]
  • The contact phone number of the Moscow office of the "UN Foundation" matches the phone number of the firm Intersolar, which commissioned the foundation's website and advertising campaign.
  • The Nizhny Novgorod office of the "UN Foundation" shared a contact telephone number with the "Nail Design Academy" for an extended period. "UN Foundation for Cooperation, Nizhny Novgorod Representative Office +7(831) 433-66-79" [8][11] / "Nail Design Academy. Nizhny Novgorod, The Oka Descent, 2, 4th floor, office 11 (831) 433-57-20 (831) 433-66-79 (831) 433-58-12" [menmfa.ru/kontaktyi]. (source). The number now belongs to the "A.F. Konto Training Center."

Genuine UN Foundations

  • UNICEF — United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef.ru (archive). One can detect a certain business logic in the insistent abbreviation of the "Nizhny Novgorod Regional Public Foundation for Cooperation with the United Nations" to a simple "UN Foundation," and in signing its own news releases under precisely that name. If the practice of donating to the Children's fund has taken hold, why shouldn't respectable organizations interact with the regular UN Foundation — for adults?

See also

Sources

  1. rusprofile.ru — entry for "Nizhny Novgorod Regional Public Foundation for the Promotion of the United Nations" from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities: TIN 5262230674, OGRN 1085200003998, registered 14 August 2008…
  2. unfd.ru — UN Foundation — first version of the foundation's website, homepage with statutory objectives and a news feed from 2008 to 2010
  3. unfd.ru — UN Foundation — "Make a Donation" page from the first version of the website, UNICEF payment details and addresses of the Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod representative offices
  4. web.archive.org — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region (archive)
  5. web.archive.org — reviews of the employer InterSolar by contractors, including a review by Olga Chichilina dated 14 February 2009 concerning revisions to the UN Foundation's brochure, June 2010 (archive)
  6. web.archive.org — InterSolar employer profile with assignments related to the UN Foundation's website and brochure for 2008, 2009, and 2010, January 2011 (archive)
  7. web.archive.org — UN Foundation — "Union of Journalists at the UN Foundation" page, objectives of the Nizhny Novgorod Union of Correspondents and an extract from the minutes delegating a task to K. Baranovskiy, 2012 (archive)
  8. nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolis — Marina Druzhkova, "A seminar titled 'A Responsible Approach to Covering Violence and Suicide in the World' was held in Nizhny Novgorod", 1 December 2008
  9. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — Inna Kart, "A Union of Correspondents has been established in Nizhny Novgorod", 18 June 2012 (archive)
  10. web.archive.org — UN Foundation — news item "Nizhny Novgorod Union of Journalists, UN Correspondents" on the founding of the union and a press conference on 18 June, 2012 (archive)
  11. web.archive.org — UN Foundation — "Unions" section listing nine unions affiliated with the foundation and contact details for representative offices in the page footer, May 2011 (archive)