The Russian Red Cross Society ( rus, Российский Красный Крест, Rossiyskiy Krasny Krest, rɐˈsʲijskʲɪj 'krasnɨj 'krʲest) is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education in Russia. It is the designated national affiliate of the
.
It is now particularly concerned with problems relating to undocumented migrants, and, with the help of the international federation, provides food parcels and support to people who are detained.
It was established by the order of Emperor
Alexander II.
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia (born Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine; 1 November 1864– 18 July 1918) was a German Hessian and Rhenish princess of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt, and the wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alex ...
was responsible for the organization in Moscow.
There were 109 Red Cross schools of nursing in Russia in 1914. 25,000
Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...
were trained between 1914 and 1916. The society ran short courses for nurses and sanitary workers in Moscow in 1919 and provided support for mentally ill soldiers.
Controversies
In October 2022, during the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, the Russian Red Cross reduced government costs of the invasion by raising money to help support Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine and their families.
In November, Ukraine’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights accused the Russian Red Cross of stealing ten premises, office equipment, and vehicles in Russian-controlled
Crimea
Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
from the
Ukrainian Red Cross.
Russian Red Cross operations in the occupied territories of Ukraine was criticised as a violation of the basic ICRC rules and its links to the nationalist organisation
All-Russia People’s Front (earlier headed by current RRCS head Savchuk) and other paramilitary organizations in Russia. The RRCS was also involved in fundraising and procurement of exclusively military equipment such as thermal vision for Russian army and held an annual gala at "Avangard" arms factory in Moscow. Other RRCS officials have praised the "special military operation" and described Ukrainians as "Nazis" with whom any ceasefire talks don't make sense. In 2023, the Russian government decided to gradually replace ICRC operations in occupied territories and registered commercial companies with similar names - Donetsk Red Cross and Luhansk Red Cross.
See also
*
Pyatigorsk Colony of the Russian Red Cross Society
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies
Medical and health organizations based in Russia
1867 establishments in the Russian Empire