If you wish to contribute to this ongoing, volunteer, and free resource, please visit www.historycomment.org

History of Rotary in Russia

HOW AND WHEN ROTARY ENTERED RUSSIA

Figuratively speaking we knocked at the door of the Kremlin in the fall of 1989 when RI President Hugh Archer with the help of Past RI President Rolf Klärich visited Moscow for the first time. Before that there had been many attempts to start Rotary clubs in various parts of USSR. Many Finnish and Swedish PDGs and other Rotarians had since 1983 tried to introduce Rotary into Russia, but of course the RI Board wanted to keep matters in their own hands.

The Board declared 4 conditions for chartering Rotary clubs. They were:

a) Freedom of meeting and speech
b) Freedom of selecting membership without government interference
c) Freedom of travel and visiting other clubs.
d) Right to pay membership dues to RI and participation in contributions to RI and TRF in convertible currencies.

These conditions were revolutionary in USSR at that time.. Even Duma (Parliament) enacted lex Rotary, which allowed non-political foreign organizations NGOs come to USSR. (Now today this law is again in Duma, but unfortunately going to the regulating direction)

In March 1990 President Hugh Archer and PRIP Rolf Klärich were invited to Moscow as guests of the USSR Government. There they met Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Petrovski and agreed with him all the Rotary conditions to enter USSR. It was also agreed that the first Rotary club will be chartered in Moscow and then afterwards about 10 clubs in other big cities and mainly in he capitals of Soviet states. It was further agreed that these around 10 Rotary clubs could work about two years, after which they are examined by both parties and judged, do they suit in the Soviet society and Rotary world. If both parties accept them, they can continue their existence.

The first Rotary club in USSR was chartered on the 5th of June 1990 in Moscow. USSR collapsed in December 1991.

(The charter president was Alexander Tarnovski, who was introduced at the 1990 Portland convention. Alex became a friend of Jack Selway, later the founder of this Rotary Global History project)

Then the agreement between RI and USSR was forgotten and no further judgments were made about the suitability of Rotary movement in Russia. Rotary continued its extension further in Russia and in former Soviet states, like in Baltic countries, Belarus, Ukraine etc.

During three Rotary years 1990-01, 1991-92 and 1992-93 the whole former Soviet Union was part of the Finnish district 1420 (then 142). It was naturally then the world's largest district having 12 time zones from North Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea. The sun never went down in this district. When it went down in the west it rose up in the east. The first Governor of this huge district was Jorma Lampén.

During Rotary year 1992-93 DG Matti Lappalainen, D1420, came to the conclusion that this large district was impossible to govern further as one district. He suggested to the RI Board, that some better governable solution should be found.. The RI Board decided to divide the former USSR first to two areas having the Ural Mountains as the border line. Siberia was joined to District 5010, which accepted it, but not as Siberia. They wanted to call it as East Russia, because of the negative connotation of the name Siberia.

The area west of Ural Mountains, European Russia, was formed as the Special Extension Area (SEA) governed by the Presidential Extension Administrator (PEA) The first three Rotary years the PEA was German Rotarian Paul-Nikolai Ehlers, whose mother tongue was Russian. The next three Rotary years the PEA was PDG Jorma Lampén. These two PEAs had Russia and Belarus their governing areas. In connection of this division of District 1420 other former Soviet states were joined to some existing districts like Baltic states to Finnish, Swedish and Danish districts.

This account by Jorma Lampen, Past Director RI, was edited by Rotary Global History Historian Basil Lewis 6 January 2006
 

For more use: www.historysearch.org