Businesses everywhere are closing temporarily or permanently. Many English language schools have been forced to close or shrink as fewer and fewer Russians can afford to pay for lessons. According to one estimate, of the more than 150 language schools in Moscow, only about 20 can afford to employ native speaker teachers. Apart from the qualified teachers working for the major foreign-owned language chains, the majority of English teachers have come through voluntary placement organizations or are students of Russian with an interest in the language and culture. Several organizations in the U.S. offer volunteers the chance to teach English at a variety of levels.
Accommodations are with host families.
Project Harmony has offices in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Petrozavodsk. Adventures in Education Inc. runs a similar voluntary teaching program in St. Petersburg. Application should be made in February or March for year-long placements beginning in September. As foreigners have flooded into these countries over the past decade, governments have made it more difficult to obtain visas. Officially, it is always necessary to obtain a work visa outside the country, though in some cases employers can fix up the red tape after arrival on a tourist visa.