Open Russia is the brainchild of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, CEO of the YUKOS Oil Company, the largest corporation in Russia. YUKOS is a major corporate giver, whose philanthropic philosophy is that Russia's next generation needs to be well-educated, healthy, and strong. The company sponsors a number of extremely large-scale philanthropic initiatives within Russia. These include New Civilization - a cross between Scouting and Junior Achievement which has taught several hundred thousand teens the basics of life in a modern, democratic, market-oriented society - and the Federation of Internet Education - which has established training centers throughout Russia and beyond and will give half a million high school teachers the skills needed to use the internet in the classroom, which in turn will provide millions of schoolchildren in the most remote corners of Russia with access to a world of knowledge and personal contacts.

These YUKOS philanthropic programs and others like them aim to integrate the new Russia with the rest of the civilized world through education, communication, and personal contacts. For too long, Russia has been isolated and somehow "different". Khodorkovsky firmly believes that the time has come for Russia to become an integral part of the world, and he is willing to put up his money to see that it happens.

The crown jewel in this endeavor is the Open Russia Foundation, which takes the YUKOS corporate philanthropic mission beyond Russia's borders. The Foundation was officially launched in December 2001 in London with an endowment of ВЈ10 million. The motivation for the establishment of the Open Russia Foundation was to foster openness, understanding, and integration between the people of Russia and the rest of the world.

Open Russia undertakes a range of activities and programs supported by grants awarded to academic institutions and not-for-profit organizations. The Foundation believes that openness is the first principle of substantial and mutually enriching communication between the peoples of Russia and the West. The knowledge, experience, and culture of each country represent a priceless heritage. The opportunity to share common values, and understand each other's, forms the basis of economic, social, and political partnerships to the benefit of the international community at large.

The Open Russia Foundation has been in existence for nearly a year, and has already given out several hundred thousand dollars' worth of grants to projects that will help bridge the gap between Russia and the West. Some of these include: the Chevening Scholarships, awards for advanced study by Russians in the UK, coordinated through the British Council; the Young Leaders Program, which brings together young British, American, and Russian leaders to discuss global issues; the Somerset House-Walpole Collection, which will bring back to Britain for the first time in over 200 years a collection of masterpieces from the Hermitage purchased from Britain's first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, by Catherine the Great; and the Thor Heyerdahl Research Center, which is conducting a multi-national archaeological project near the southern Russian city of Azov, mentioned in the Norse sagas, in order to demonstrate the existence of ancient cultural links between this region and Scandinavia.

The US launch of Open Russia marks a new phase in the Foundation's development. Present at the Library of Congress event were the members of Open Russia's illustrious Board of Trustees - Mikhail Khodorkovsky himself, Dr. Henry Kissinger, Lord Jacob Rothschild, and Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of St. Petersburg's fabled State Hermitage Museum, as well as numerous Members of Congress and other Washington luminaries.

The gala evening opened with welcoming remarks from the host, Librarian of Congress Dr. James Billington, a long-time friend of Russia. Billington stressed the importance of Russia in world culture and the need for the country to be a full member of the world's family of nations once again. Next to speak was World Bank President James Wolfensohn. He chided Billington for his modesty, saying that the Librarian, more than just about anybody else present, was personally responsible for so much that has happened in the recent past to bring Russia and the West closer together.

Taking the podium, Khodorkovsky started his keynote remarks by putting the evening into historical perspective. "A year has gone by since the tragedy and it is September once again, yet none of us have changed our plans, and we continue to work together. They say that the world has changed. I too feel the changes: we have begun to understand one another better, we have finally realized that Russia and America are part of the same indivisible world, and partnership relations between our two countries in many different areas are now developing at a rapid pace."

As examples of these developing relations, he mentioned the first-ever direct shipment of Russian oil to America, which YUKOS had made earlier in the summer; a six-week training course for young Russian regional leaders at the Yale School of Management in the spring; and the summer spent by American students and teachers at a New Civilization camp in Russia.

Khodorkovsky believes that all of these milestones signify something very important: "In addition wanting to change the world for the better, we also have the opportunity to actually make these changes. And in creating and supporting such foundations as Open Russia, we can give other people the opportunity to realize their own ideals and creative projects. `New opportunities to create'—that is how I would define the essence of this philanthropic activity."

Then it was time to present the Open Russia Foundation's first Leadership Award. The Leadership Award is bestowed on an individual who has worked to develop international relationships, who has come to embody the values of openness, understanding, and integrity that the Foundation honors, and who has had a long-standing commitment to improving relations with Russia.

This year's recipient was Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, who has done much to establish closer ties between his state and its immediate neighbor to the West-Russia. Senator Stevens is the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress. He serves as Honorary Chair of the Center for Russian Leadership Development at the Library of Congress. Stevens was instrumental in ensuring continuation of the Center's Open World Russian Leadership Program, which brings young Russian leaders into communities across the United States to gain insights into American government and free-market economics. He was also a guiding voice in creating the Library of Congress's Meetings of Frontiers program, a bilingual, multimedia English-Russian digital library that tells the story of the Russian-American frontier in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.

"To be honest, it is a great pleasure to be able to do good," said Khodorkovsky in presenting the award. "I think that Senator Ted Stevens will agree with me. In the name of the Open Russia Foundation, I am honored to present him with this engraving with a scene of the old Kremlin. The award is given in recognition of his outstanding contribution to educational, cultural, and leadership programs. Senator Stevens deserves this honor because of his longstanding commitment to improving US-Russian relations. He has dedicated himself to programs which seek to bridge the divide between Russia and the United States by providing in-depth introductions to American society, democracy, and free enterprise."

In accepting the Leadership Award, Stevens remarked: "It's an honor to be recognized by the Open Russia Foundation. We have a common goal: improved US-Russian relations. The Open Russia Foundation offers many opportunities for people of each nation to learn from one another, exchange ideas, and develop a greater understanding of democratic institutions. I am especially pleased to help foster the relationship between Alaska and the Russian Far East because of our cultural ties, shared interests, and close proximity."

The evening ended with a special musical treat, courtesy of an Open Russia Foundation grant: two extremely gifted young Russian musicians, 12-year-old pianist Margarita Trif and 15-year-old violinist Sergey Pudalov, who would otherwise have not had the opportunity to demonstrate their talents beyond their home towns, delighted the audience with a demanding repertoire that included works by Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Gershwin.