The New Eurasia Foundation designed its youth initiatives program area at the time when the government was discussing modern youth policy and actively looking for new approaches to identifying and constructively using youth potential in a country with a nascent democracy. When designing the youth initiatives program, the New Eurasia Foundation took into account the characteristics of the period, such as radical socio-economic changes within the country, the newly available opportunities for international collaboration, and the interests of Russian youth itself.

Supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the New Eurasia Foundation has been implementing a series of projects designed to support the development of community schools in Russia since 2005.