Europe
Russia.
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains a narrow offense of leaving a helpless person in danger (art. 125). Federal Law No. 135-FZ of August 11, 1995, now titled "On Charitable Activities and Volunteering", covers both charity and volunteering and gives volunteers listed rights, including support such as insurance in cases the law provides. Federal bodies are tasked with state programs and a unified information system for volunteering, and the DOBRO.RF platform is presented as that system.
Is there a legal duty to help a stranger?
LimitedArticle 125 of the Criminal Code punishes knowingly leaving without help a person who is in a condition dangerous to life or health and cannot protect themselves because of minor age, old age, illness or helplessness. The text applies only where the offender could have helped and either was obliged to care for the person or put the person in danger, so it is not a general duty to assist any stranger (reading of the Russian text as shown on the source page; no official English translation was used).
Are people who help protected?
LimitedNo statute giving a helper general immunity for good-faith aid to a stranger was found. Article 17.1 of Federal Law No. 135-FZ, as added by Federal Law No. 15-FZ of February 5, 2018, lists rights of volunteers, including support in cases provided by law, and provides for insurance of volunteers' life or health in specified circumstances; this concerns organized volunteering, not spontaneous aid.
How the government promotes giving and service
Ways to give and volunteer
Charity in Russia is shaped by laws on foreign agents and undesirable organizations, and many independent groups have been closed or restricted. The one thing to know first: stick to official channels and verify any group before giving or volunteering.
Check a charity before you give
The tax authority keeps the state register of legal entities and offers a counterparty check, which shows whether a nonprofit is officially registered; Russia has no single charity rating site.
Give your time
Give money, blood or a donation
In an emergency or a crisis
Before you act
- Russian law restricts foreign-funded groups, and laws on foreign agents and undesirable organizations carry real legal risks, so check them before donating to or working with any group, especially from abroad. Use only official, registered channels and be wary of cash collection and anonymous social media appeals. Visitors and foreign residents should confirm what volunteering their visa status allows.
This list covers only official channels and does not cover independent groups or any activity that may be restricted. Checked 2026-10-28. Listing an organization is not an endorsement, and none of them has endorsed this site. Some official sites block automatic checks, so a link may need a second try.
One thing worth knowing
Russia folded volunteering into its 1995 charity law in 2018, so one statute now governs both and defines volunteer rights and the roles of authorities.
What this does not mean
This guide describes statutes and programs as published and does not assess how they are applied. Translations from Russian are by this guide; the cited legal texts are from non-governmental aggregators of official texts, so the official publication (pravo.gov.ru) should be checked for current wording. This is a plain-language summary of public sources, not legal advice, and it does not rank countries. No government named here has endorsed this site. Not reviewed by a lawyer. Statutes were read in public sources and may have changed. Last checked October 26, 2026.