"Civic Assistance"
The Committee for Helping Refugees and Forced Migrants

The Committee "Civic Assistance" (CCA) was formed in 1990 in connection with the appearance in Moscow of the first refugees - the Armenian victims of the pogroms in Azerbaijan. After this it became apparent, that the Soviet powers were intentionally not solving the problems of its citizens, and they could not ensure their safety. The committee Civic Assistance from the very beginning took on the tasks of legal consulting for refugees and forced migrants. CA played the intermediary role for the relations between the refugees and governmental official structures, provided defense in the courts, and defended of the rights of refugees for housing and work.

In 1990, in the offices of the newspaper "Literaturnaya Gazeta," CCA began to hold a weekly reception of refugees. At the reception, because of the extreme need, CCA distributed some financial help, including some clothing and kitchen utensils. This financial support was based on individual donations, irregular products of the factories, and the unpaid volunteer work of the committee members. In 1995, CCA became a collective member of a different refugee organization, the Coordinating Council for Helping Refugees and Forced Migrants (CCHRFM). Through a grant given to CCHRFM by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, CCA as a subcontractor now receives some financial support for refugees, including $500 a month (for 100 refugees, this means $5 each).

In 1996, the committee began operating a school in Moscow for the children of refugees. The school, called the Center for Adaptation and Study, provides both academic courses and "social adaptation" classes for refugee children who would otherwise be unable to attend school in Moscow due to lack of official residency (i.e., a propiska).

Last updated:    February 1999

A print version of much of the information contained in this NIS Third Sector Organizations section can be found in the The Post-Soviet Handbook (Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1999).

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