Health and Safety

Yes. The places you will go require no extraordinary precautions, aside from the usual list of do’s and don’ts when traveling. Notwithstanding the current political discourse, foreigners are welcome and you will be no exception. Recall the thousands of foreign fans that descended on Russia during the recent World Cup.

For our part, we make sure that you are in good hands from the moment you land. For issues large and small, you will have a local city coordinator to advise you and a large local support network to lean on.

Our host families are well-known to the local coordinator and live in safe parts of town. Many will have hosted interns before, and all are checked for the absence of a criminal record. We will put you in touch with your host family ahead of your trip, so you can get to know them before you set off.

If you work at a camp, your accommodations are covered by stringent safety and security precautions that camp organizers must legally provide to work with children.

Russia has a reasonably effective healthcare system, although quality differs, depending on where you are and what you need. Taking care of basic medical needs should not be a problem. A visit to the doctor can be easily arranged if you need it (the camp has a doctor on-site), and local pharmacies are generally well-stocked.

Some of our programs, particularly the camp, take place in an area that is somewhat removed from medical facilities that can offer sophisticated levels of medical help. For this reason, it is important that your health check gives us an unbiased opinion regarding your health and any limitations to activity that you have. It is important that you are open about any health issues you have, so we can plan or advise you accordingly.

For serious complications that may require medical evacuation outside of Russia, we require health insurance with appropriate coverage.

 Items relating to everyday health and personal care, including those related to women’s health, can be easily obtained from any number of pharmacies and grocery stores. 

Since the start of the pandemic, Russia has suffered multiple waves of infection and future waves are unpredictable. We are making our plans for summer 2022 based on our view that international travel will be possible and that any restrictions on mobility and gatherings will not materially impact the interns' work. We continue to monitor the situation and if the conditions change, we will work with participants to try to make travel possible. Please note that while a refund is possible in some cases, we cannot reimburse other expenses, such as the cost of the visa or the flight. 

In order to minimise the risk of severe illness, we will require that all participants be vaccinated against COVID. We have the same requirement for our host families in Russia.