Job Discussion Forums

[Confederate]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned anything about the trouble British Council is having, especially since on the news here in Moscow this week, they said that British Council is closing its Moscow and St. Petersburg operations. BC is one of teh big time schools here, surprised me that nobody has said anything about this.
JD

[Yosma]

[Confederate]

Quite a few TV news broadcasts has mentioned this on the news here, also if you can read Russian, you'll also find a story about this on:
http://newsru.com/

It is common knowledge that British Council was being investigated by the tax authorites here, I'm assuming this is happening because of the findings of this investigation.

JD

[Confederate]

http://www.newsru.com/russia/25may2006/bs.html

This is the story about British Council is going to close their operations in Moscow and St. Petersburg, seems like they are scaling back their operations here from what I have read, seen on TV and have been told.
JD

[Confederate]

British Council, which worked in Tomsk four years, he stated about closing during October of design center with the Tomsk polytechnic university. In Saint Petersburg and Ekaterinburg, where also works BS, in this organization arose the problems with the fiscal organs RF. Besides Tomsk, in the present year of representation it is planned to shut in two more regions of Russia. "British Council - this is large organization, we work in more than hundred countries. And it periodically for us is necessary to reexamine budget and to make unpleasant decisions. Closing center in Tomsk - one of them ", said in the interview for local television channel deputy director BS Simon Williams, who arrived in Tomsk from Moscow for regulating of questions, connected with a change in status. Center in Tomsk acted since 2002. At the moment of discovery its annual budget was 300 thousand dollars, reports "interfaks". Official version of closing council in Tomsk - too great a budget - 300 thousand dollars. It is expected that the British center will be preobrazovan into the subdivision TPU and it will preserve information- enlightenment functions. "they agreed to transmit entire material base so that the center would work in the manner that it worked, until now. Only difference, that means to financing of the state of center give they not will be ", described the rector OF TPU Yuri pokholkov. Manager BS at the university the sea-scape Of donova stated to the "independent newspaper" that "the change in status of the center of British Council is connected exclusively with questions of financing, which from the British side occurs along the state line". Moreover it focused attention on the fact that the information resources of center will be supplemented as before by British side. British Council works in 111 countries. Its main task - teaching of English, creation of information it is center, the advance of British formation, work with the governments and the non-government structures into the region of reforms and of state administration, and also the idea abroad of the latest achievements of Great Britain in the science, the skill, the literature and the design. In RF the British Council works since 1992, achieving its programs through the network of information and design it is center from Saint Petersburg to Yuzhno Sakhalinsk. Observers in Tomsk evaluate situation from the point of view of last events around the noncommercial organizations. Anxiety strengthens recent information about the fact that in Saint Petersburg and Ekaterinburg, where BS also works, in this organization arose the problems with the fiscal organs RF. Moreover all focused attention on statement BS about the closing in the present year of its representations in two more regions RF. "to the British Council to authority have already long ago been they attempted, she stated the chairman of Moscow Helsinki group Ludmila alekseeva. - this in the river bed of the general isolationist policy of the country, when us they fence off from the external peace, especially the peace of west, democratic, and they try to concentrate all possibilities of society on the understandings with the authorities ". "in the British Council was problems and earlier, periodically they underwent the specific pressure of Russian instances. Entire question in degree to what they knew how to solve these problems. If they solved, then the discussion deals with the business- project, with the savings of means. If no, then motives others, counts the consultant of the Moscow center of Carnegie Andrey Riabov. But this main, in his opinion, that that Russia becomes increasingly of less attractive for the West on the different positions. "as the country, that increasingly more exiting to the periphery, that is not developed, not having special it is specific to the future, not at the same time presenting any threat and not having some influence. It can be, these problems do not be determining, but they form the consciousness of those, who make decisions ", says Riabov.

[leroy]

I'd be wary of even mentioning the British Council in these forums as they seem to believe they are "above discussion". I daresome say any more as I don't want to be "investigated"

By the way, their English teaching operation here in St Petersburg closed down at the end of last year.

[Yosma]