Press Releases
Russians To Begin Internships with U.S. State Legislatures
December 15, 2005
Washington – Ten Russian professionals in the fields of law, journalism and education recently arrived in the United States to take part in a special program that will take them to state capitals around the United States for six-month legislative internships.
The Russians are the inaugural class of the Legislative Education and Practice (LEAP) program, which is operated by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) in the U.S. State Department.
After an intensive course in the U.S. political system, LEAP participants will travel to state capitals around the country for internships with state legislatures and will live with host families in those areas. One LEAP intern will travel to Alaska, two to Maryland, two to Massachusetts, two to Connecticut, two to Kentucky, and one will work in Washington.
The goal of LEAP is to help expand interest in the political process in Russia and to help create an understanding of the ways citizen participation in the political process can make a difference, according to ECA.
When they complete the program and return to Russia, the interns plan to share what they learned with their peers through mock legislatures, speeches, conferences and other events.
The Russians previously participated in ECA's Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program. Established in 1992, FLEX provides an opportunity for secondary school students from the countries of the former Soviet Union to experience life in a democratic society in order to promote democratic values and institutions in Eurasia.
During a roundtable discussion on December 2 in Washington, the Russian alumni discussed the importance of their experience in the FLEX program and their hopes for the upcoming LEAP program.
"These programs make you believe you can change everything for the better," said Antonina Chernyshova, a lawyer from Volgograd who will be spending her internship in Annapolis, Maryland. She said the State Department programs provide a good way for people to understand U.S. culture.
Olga Knonvalova, a 1999 FLEX graduate from Nizhniy Novgorod who will work for a member of the Washington City Council, said she wants to bring her experiences back to Russia to "build links between Russian and American societies."
Knonvalova also said she is interested in coordination between those who pass laws and those who carry them out. She wants to study "the problem-solving process. What is the source of information? How are decisions made?"
During the past decade, more than 14,000 young people have participated in the FLEX program, and many today are making important contributions to the development of their countries.
"The FLEX program is working," said Anton Zhukov, a lawyer from Moscow. "The program was supposed to create the ‘future leaders' and they are now the present leaders in Russia."
He said that during his LEAP internship in Annapolis, Maryland, he wants to learn more about politics and public relations. Also, "it would be quite interesting for me to get an idea of how the lobbying process is working in the United States."
"We've seen the other side of the world, said Evgenia Misenzhikova from Perm, a 1999 FLEX graduate who will be doing her LEAP internship in Hartford, Connecticut. "We have the potential to do something greater than most people do."
The other members of the inaugural LEAP class are Yelena Bakulina from Kirov; Irina Fedorova, Kurgan; Ekaterina Kolerova, Moscow; Margarita Maslukova-Malova, St. Petersburg; Denis Pimenov, Voronezh; and Ivan Tabanin, Arkhangelsk.