Local communities and charity

Management responsibilities related to contacts with local communities are distributed among several business units of Russian Railways’ Executive Office, including:

• Corporate Communications Department for Charitable and Social Activities;
• Department for Federal and Regional Government Relations (in matters related to the operation and development of rail transport);
• HR Department (focusing on the comprehensive youth policy, specifically contacts with educational institutions, including universities, schools and pre-school facilities);
• Social Development Department (in matters related to the implementation of corporate social projects, contacts with culture and sports institutions, and organisation of awareness-raising, sporting and other events).

Corporate documents:

• Russian Railways’ Charity and Sponsorship Policy;
• Russian Railways’ Code of Business Ethics;
• Russian Railways’ Youth Target Programme for 2021–2025;
• framework agreements with regions of operation;
• medium term agreements on social and economic cooperation.

Cooperation with local communities

The details of cooperation with local communities are set out in partnership and collaboration agreements signed with Russian regions to support rail transport, social and economic development. There are two types of such agreements – framework (perpetual contracts formalising the key aspects of cooperation) and medium term agreements (focusing on the key areas of cooperation with amendments made when and if needed: cooperation in transportation services for the public and industrial enterprises in the regions, joint projects, development of railway infrastructure, ensuring transport safety and socio-economic growth). So far, Russian Railways and Russian regions have entered into 78 framework agreements. In 2022, we signed twelve medium term agreements (Republic of Buryatia, Krasnoyarsk, Perm and Stavropol territories, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area – Yugra, Ryazan, Smolensk, Omsk, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, Kemerovo and Irkutsk regions).

In its regions of operations, Russian Railways is actively involved in socially focused charity in line with the objectives and principles set out in its Charity and Sponsorship Policy. The Company builds relations with local communities based on respect for their rights and freedoms and does not tolerate any forms of discrimination or infringement.

Contribution to local communities

Russian Railways is the largest taxpayer to local treasuries and Russia’s biggest employer. The Company is also the largest consumer of goods produced by Russian businesses, with its orders providing employment to an average of 0.1–1.5% of labour force in the Russian regions hosting transport engineering hubs.

Russian Railways is responsible for long-haul and suburban passenger traffic and freight traffic (including such critical transportation operations as the Northern Supply Haul and shipment of commodities from the regions producing raw materials). The Company also maintains local social infrastructure, effectively acting in the capacity of a government agency. In some regions, for example, Archangelsk, Amur and Tomsk, there are destinations where railway remains the only available type of transportation. The Company and its subsidiaries are the main providers of suburban passenger transportation in Russia. They are integrating suburban transport into urban transport systems and actively developing multi-modal routes and transport interchange hubs to enhance the mobility of urban population.

Russian Railways’ investment programme for 2021–2023 focuses on developing and upgrading the railway infrastructure and promoting highspeed and ultra high-speed railway transportation. As approved by the Russian Railways Board of Directors, the 2022 investment programme totalled RUB 846.7 bn. In the reporting year, actual implementation of the investment programme came in at RUB 870.63 bn, up 23.8% y-o-y.

Improving the quality of life in local communities

Russian Railways contributes to the creation of new jobs across its footprint and the implementation of social projects to improve the quality of life in local communities. Jointly with regional governments, Russian Railways is pressing ahead with a development plan for population centres, under which it pays close attention to places with the greatest concentration of the Company’s employees. The plan is designed to improve the quality of life in local communities. It is of particular relevance for inhabited areas located far away from administrative capitals.

These initiatives focus on improvements in culture, sports, healthcare, education, and social environment. Some 261 initiatives are expected to be financed by the governments of Russian regions, while the remaining 147 will receive funding from the Company.

In 2022, the Company completed 62 activities, including:

• building a sports ground at school No. 3 in Inzer (former railway school No. 24);
• repairing the football field of the Lokomotiv municipal stadium in Taiga;
• repairing RZD-Medicine Outpatient Clinic in Mogocha.

The plan’s implementation on the railways is coordinated by working groups chaired by the first deputy heads of the railways and also involving relevant heads of the railway governance body, structural units of branches, and representatives of the Russian regions.

In addition to the community development plan with a focus on local communities where Russian Railways’ employees live, the Company is implementing three other target programmes to develop social infrastructure and improve the quality of life of its employees:

• national programme for the socio-economic development of the Far East until 2024 and further until 2035;
• Far Eastern Railway as an Accelerated Development Domain (programme until 2025);
• Plan to Attract and Retain Personnel at Russian Railways’ Facilities along the Baikal–Amur Mainline.

Social responsibility of the Company in charity and sponsorship activities

In 2022, our charity and sponsorship initiatives focused on:

• providing financial support to Baikal–Amur towns and population centres in connection with upcoming events to mark its anniversary;
• implementation of social projects and activities to support the infrastructure of Tynda;
• financing expensive surgical treatment, medication, and rehabilitation of Russian Railways employees, including those retired, providing social support for victims of natural disasters or other calamities, promoting family values;
• promoting education, facilitating vocational education and improving education quality through financial help to sectoral universities and vocational schools, providing equipment and samples for laboratory classes;
• providing assistance to children’s organisations, supporting people with physical disabilities and people with incurable and life-limiting illnesses, including support for the Children’s Hospice autonomous non-profit organisation, So-Edinenie Support Fund for the Deaf-Blind, Obereg autonomous non-profit organisation, the Life Line charity foundation for saving seriously ill children, the Russian Paralympic Committee, and the National Monitoring Centre for Missing and Injured Children;
• supporting charitable projects for restoration and conservation of Russian historical and architectural landmarks, including churches and monasteries of cultural and historical significance (St Seraphim of Sarov Charitable Foundation, Voskresensky Novodevichy Convent in St Petersburg, Trinity Lavra of St Sergius, Donskoy Monastery);
• supporting environment-related causes;
• implementation of projects to advance mass sports, physical training and healthy lifestyle: assistance to the Become a Champion fund for supporting physical training and sports and allocation of funds for improving the Lokomotiv Stadium in Nizhneudinsk;
• supporting the organisation of the national children’s competition Lokoball (football), Lokobasket – School League (basketball), and Lokovolley (volleyball);
• promoting healthy lifestyle, children’s and mass sports, including by providing support for Lokomotiv Football Club, Locomotive ice hockey team based in Yaroslavl, Locomotive-Kuban professional basketball team, Locomotive-Novosibirsk volleyball team, Lokomotiv Russian Fitness and Sports Society, Kuban-Region Sports Club, Krasnodar Territory’s Basketball Federation, LocomotiveKaliningrad Region volleyball team, Beach Soccer Club Lokomotiv, Lokomotiv Rugby Club, Krasnodar Territory’s Centre for Young Basketball Players, Lokomotiv School Basketball League, Locomotive — Green Hill Judo Sports School for Children, and LokomotivAngara Volleyball Club.

Russian Railways continued to follow a good tradition of providing support for the work of Valery Gergiev, Yuri Bashmet, and for Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theatre.

Children and youth policy

Russian Railways for schoolchildren

Russian Railways’ educational system encompasses an entire range of educational institutions – from pre-school to higher education facilities.

To attract young people motivated to pursue railway professions and specialities, Russian Railways offers systematic career guidance to schoolchildren and students. In 2022, over 77,000 children took part in the Company’s educational and vocational navigation projects.

Russian Railways has 25 children’s railways, which can be called unique career guidance centres in Russia. Schoolchildren can also visit six RZD Kvantorium children’s science parks designed as hi-tech platforms for training young highly skilled engineers, and developing, testing and implementing cutting-edge technologies and ideas.

The number of young talents enrolled in children’s railways in 2022 was almost 15,000, of whom about 600 became students of railway transport universities and technical schools (59% of the total number of children’s railway graduates).

To help children get a better understanding of Russian Railways, the Company launched RZD class, an educational project offering a wide range of opportunities, including more than 20 learning and professional guidance activities. The schools participating in the project have railway engineering classes with in-depth study of physics, mathematics and computer science and a focus on career guidance and patriotic education. By the end of 2022, RZD classes were available in 102 educational institutions from 39 Russian regions.

In the modern educational system, aspiring engineers need to be professionals with highly developed research, design, and entrepreneurial skills. That is why all of the Company’s projects and programmes for young talents nurture innovative and creative approaches in children, while also teaching them how to conduct research and complete design assignments.

On 1 September 2022, Russian Railways inaugurated its first cadet classes. Five Russian Railways schools located in the Republic of Buryatia, Primorye and Khabarovsk territories, Amur and Sverdlovsk regions were selected for the start of the new academic year.

Partnership with universities

Russian Railways actively cooperates with nine sectoral universities across Russia. Under the Programme of Russian Railways’ Interaction with Railway Universities until 2025 the Company works to upgrade the universities’ infrastructure and R&D capabilities, streamline learning processes and improve the skills of university management and professors.

As a result of the 2022 admissions campaign, 5,607 students were enrolled in educational institutions under contracts with Russian Railways, with the total number of Russian Railways’ students reaching 27,417.

In 2022, Russian Railways approved orders increasing the amount of scholarships for academic achievement by 15% and social scholarships by 30% starting 1 January 2023.

At sectoral universities and their branches, the Company created 16 simulator training facilities to prepare railway professionals, as well as eleven lecture halls and co-working and recreational spaces decorated in Russian Railways’ corporate style.