Helping emigrants

k-top1
k-top2

who left Russia because of the war

Helping emigrants

who left Russia because of the war 

Since the beginning of the war, hundreds of thousands of Russians have left the country. Many of them went into the unknown, having neither work nor savings. We support Russian emigrants who deprecate the military aggression against Ukraine and do not see opportunities for themselves to live in Putin’s Russia.

k-top1

How can we help?

Provide housing for the first few weeks in co-living apartments and houses
Provide legal advice on emigration issues
Provide psychological assistance
Introduce to other emigrants

Become a volunteer

The Ark volunteers are a community of caring people around the world who are ready to help those who are forced to leave the country and look for a new home and new opportunities. Our volunteers provide help to emigrants in dozens of countries around the world, both online and offline. 

How can you help The Ark?

01

Tell the emigrants about the ways of emigration, legalization, finding jobs and housing in your country. It is our volunteers who often answer the emigrants' questions about life in a particular country — either in private conversations or in The Ark chats for specific countries. 

02

Provide accomodation for those who are planning to come in the near future and do not know where to stay. 

03

If you are a lawyer, a psychologist or a translator, you can give advice to the emigrants within the framework of your knowledge. We often need other professional volunteers — it all depends on the specific application. 

04

Teach foreign languages to the emigrants. Teachers and native-speaking volunteers give group lessons of English, German, Polish, Czech, Spanish and other languages in the framework of The Ark. Emigrants are interested in many other languages! 

05

If you are looking for employees for your company, you can provide a workplace to an emigrant — in the country of arrival or in a remote format. 

06

Share experience and knowledge. Many volunteers have invaluable experience and knowledge, so thanks to them we have the opportunity to organize the Ark-based useful webinars regularly. 

We do not have any special selection or initiation: you are already a volunteer of The Ark from the moment you fill in the form. When we receive a request that you can help with, we will write to you. We always check if the offer of help is still relevant and only after that we give the volunteer’s contact to the relocant. 
If you haven’t been contacted for a long time, don’t worry. This only means that there haven’t been any requests on the topics that you are ready to work with yet. We really appreciate volunteer help and are looking for an opportunity to apply it as effectively as possible both for the emigrants and for the volunteers themselves. 
If you want to become the Ark volunteer, fill in the form 

A roof over your head 

The Ark co-livings are houses and apartments for co-residence. As a general rule, we give emigrants a roof over their heads for up to two weeks so that they could recover their breath and solve primary household problems, find housing for long-term rent, and meet like-minded people. 

Co-living in Armenia

Co-living in Turkey

Co-living in Warsaw

We can accept applications from those who have a valid visa 

Co-living in Aktobe, Almaty and Astana (Kazakhstan)

Because of a large number of people leaving due to mobilization and not wanting to take part in the Kremlin’s criminal war against the people of Ukraine, from September 2022 till February 2023, the Ark’s co-livings worked in Kazakhstan.

Housing in Yerevan, Istanbul and Warsaw

We give a roof over your head for up to two weeks. Fill in the form and we will contact you as soon as possible

Housing in foreign countries

Find a roommate

We have made a telegram bot that helps to find partners for joint long-term rental housing in foreign countries 

Relocation consultations

If you need advice on emigration issues, write us via our telegram bot 

Help from other
projects

We are happy to collaborate with projects that also help emigrants and be useful for each other in the name of our common goal 

Georgia

ReForum
ReForum space for activists, journalists and human rights defenders 

Montenegro

Pristanište
Helping Ukrainians, Russians and Belarusians in Montenegro, including help with accomodation for the first few days from the wonderful fundation Pristanište
Montelibero
The international libertarian movement and community of emigrants in Montenegro Montelibero helps in the relocation of those who share their values. The project also provides support to emigrants in matters of adaptation and integration, including obtaining a residence permit.

Kazakhstan

Point of [No]return
Human rights project in support of the Russians in Kazakhstan. Aims to helps emigrants with an anti-war position, conscientious military service escapists and political activists.

USA

Guide with free opportunities, shelters, language courses, food, medical assistance at the southern border

Evacuation from Russia:

Idite lesom (“Off to the Woods”) 
The project has been assisting people to evade the draft, leave the country, find shelter and much more since the beginning of the mobilization.
Vyvozhuk ("Transpobeetle")
The project helps activists at risk or under persecution to leave the country, accompanies and consults them throughout their journey. In addition, Vyvozhuk assists in finding temporary shelters and providing employment after the evacuation.
Na krivoy koze («Anyhow»)
The project helps activists and subjects to military service to leave for nearby countries. 

Aid for conscripts in Russia:

«Movement of conscientious objectors to military service» 
Helps conscripts to avoid military service, provides informational, moral and legal assistance.
«Conscript school»
Gives advice on military recruitment and teaches conscripts, their parents, servicemen and alternative servicemen to defend their rights on their own.
«Call to conscience» 
Project brings together lawyers and human rights activists who help Russians who have consciously decided not to serve in the army to avoid being drafted.

Aid for Ukrainian refugees

Departure aid
Assistance in the evacuation Ukrainian citizens, consultations on the necessary documents, information about the actual situation at the borders, and many more.
Volunteers Tbilisi
Assistance to Ukrainian refugees in Georgia with temporary housing, food, medicine, adaptation.
Civic Assistance
Help for Ukrainians persecuted in Russia.

Aid to scientists

Scholars at risk
International network of institutions and individuals whose mission it is to protect scholars and promote academic freedom.
Science at risk
Consultations and emergency assistance to scientists affected by the war in Ukraine and political repressions in Belarus and Russia.

Помощь творческим людям

Artist at risk
Supports persecuted artists, facilitating their safe exit from their countries of origin, provides them with the residence, helps to implement creative projects.

Help LGBTQ+

Quarteera e.V.
Helps Russian-speaking LGBTQ+ people with relocation to Germany and supports the community in this country. Volunteers of the project provide information and consulting assistance, hold events for the community and carry out educational work.
Квiр Свiт ("Kvip Svit")
Offers LGBTQ+ people and representatives of ethnic minorities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, who were affected by the war in Ukraine, information and legal assistance, including emigration options from Russia.
EQUAL PostOst e.V.
European organization supporting LGBTQ people from the Post-Ost space. Helps with evacuation to a queer-friendly countries, organizes educational projects, provides social and legal support in Europe.
LGBT+ Case
A human rights organization that provides legal assistance to the LGBT community to create a culture of protecting their rights and interests.
LGBT initiative group "Exit"
Supports LGBT, gender non-conforming and intersex people, as well as people with non-binary and queer identities. The project provides free psychological, legal and other consultations.
Russian LGBT Network
An interregional LGBT organization that provides legal, psychological and emergency assistance, supports regional LGBT+ organizations and fights for equality.
If you also help emigrants, we will be happy to post information about your project. Contact us in t.me/@kovchegvolunteers

Work and education

Commercial projects can advertise in the Ark Telegram channel, all the money from which goes to finance our work. We still post information about non-commercial projects for free! Read more about our advertising policy here. If you want to place advertising, contact us in Telegram @Kovcheg_Ads
Our Telegram channel with job openings, internships, scholarships, offers of volunteers and other opportunities for emigrants 
Commercial projects can advertise in the Ark Telegram channel, all the money from which goes to finance our work. We still post information about non-commercial projects for free! Read more about our advertising policy here. If you want to place advertising, contact us in Telegram @KovchegAdsBot

Useful materials and reviews (RU)

Webinars (RU)

The Ark volunteers who have unique knowledge and experience regularly conduct useful webinars On the webinars you can learn how to move to another country, which education opportunities there are for the Russians abroad as well as get psychological support and deal with stress.

Psychological help

Psychological help

Many emigrants face psychological difficulties: their relatives don’t accept their anti-war position, shame and guilt, unclear future. 

How we can help

Ark psychologists channel with supporting practices, useful articles and direct communication with specialists

Group sessions

About 15 people in a group, fast psychological tension decrease, acute stress relief 

One-to-one advisory sessions 

Help to find resources and acknowledge emotional stress , understand the reasons of difficulties and cope with them. 
Fill in the form and we will select one of the types of help for you 

Emergency psychological assistance 

Contact us in Telegram if you need emergency psychological assistance 

Russians against
the war

On this page you can find the list of humanitarian, counter-propaganda and anti-war projects initiated by Russians. Please chose the one you are interested in and join it directly via our page.

If you can’t find your project, please, fill the form. We will also add it to the list.

We aim to help the victims of the war in Ukraine, to promote the dissemination of objective and timely information, to expose false news, to protect and promote democracy and human rights, and to support persons opposing the current authorities in Russia.

The Ark life 

The Ark brings people together online as well as under the roof of its co-living facilities in Yerevan and Istanbul. There are regular events for like-minded people: together we collect humanitarian aid, take part in activities, learn languages, and even celebrate birthdays. 

The Ark in Armenia 

The Ark in Turkey 

Resource Center

The Ark centers are venues for educational activities, lectures and courses, discussions, co-working, they serve as meeting places for emigrants and anti-war initiatives. 

Center in Yerevan 

Address:Pavstos Buzand St. 1/3, left door.

Entrance from st. Buzand, in the center of the building there are wide steps, the entrance is immediately to the left, the blue sign “Ark”, a door with a lattice.

Working hours of the co-working room: Monday-Friday from 15:00 to 20:00.

On maps:
Yandex
Google

If you are looking for space for events, meetings or a place to record videos, contact our coordinator Darina t.me/mayats_kaya

We are also planning to open Centers in other countries, but we haven’t raised the necessary funds to do it yet. Please support the development of the project. 
Donate

Donate for The Ark Project

Donation amount 

We have no technical ability to accept donations from Russian bank cards.

If you have a Russian bank card, one of the donation options given below might suit you

If you live in Russia or provide information about your foreign banking instruments in the Russian Federation, please use other transfer methods below.

Donate cryptocurrency

Choose cryptocurrency

BTC 
BTC
ETH (ERC20)
USDT (TRC20)
USDT (ERC20)
SOL
LTC
TRON (TRX)
XRP
BUSD (ERC20)
USDT (BEP2)
USDC (BEP20)
bc1qnxmjjj23e5u6y8slhl9wss74t3wep6tke2nc60

If you would like to make a large donation, donate in another cryptocurrency, cancel a recurring payment or have any other question, please contact us by email: [email protected]

Operated by VšĮ “Eastern Europe Research Foundation”

Чтобы отменить ежемесячный платеж, заполните форму