Our history

1996 Dr Patokh Chodiev founds The International Chodiev Foundation
1996 ICF establishes MGIMO Scholarship programme
1998 ICF sponsors the Shostakovich music festival in Tokyo
2002 Russian Patriarch Alexy II thanks ICF for efforts ‘to preserve and expand Russia’s future intellectual potential’
2002 ICF sponsors the reconstruction of a church-run orphanage in Moscow
2002 ICF partners with the Odessa Rehabilitation Center, ‘House with an Angel’, in Ukraine
2006 Dr Chodiev joins Board of Trustees of MGIMO
2007 Dr Chodiev is one of the founders of the MGIMO Endowment Fund
2009 ICF partners and sponsors J-Fest, a festival of contemporary Japanese culture in Russia and becomes permanent sponsor
2010 ICF starts to support orphanage in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, known as ‘Dom Rebenka’
2011 Dr Chodiev buys Itchiku Kubota Kimono Collection (the Kubota Collection) and saves the Kubota Museum in Japan from bankruptcy. ICF manages the preservation and promotion of the collection
2014 ICF announces RUB 1m grant competition among MGIMO students for study placement in Japan
2015 ICF sponsors the development of MGIMO Internet portal
2015 ICF sponsors Russian Culture Days in Japan and becomes its permanent sponsor
2015 ICF awards the winners of the grant competition at MGIMO
2015 The Ambassador of Japan in Russia, Takahito Harada, commends Dr Chodiev and ICF for their contribution to the development of Japan-Russia relations
2015 The Kubota Collection tours Europe and Asia
2015 ICF launches new educational projects in Russia
2016 Dr Chodiev becomes Chairman of the Society of Japanese Studies in Russia
2016 The 11th Annual Russian Culture Festival in Japan opens in Tokyo
2017 ICF Celebrates its 20th Anniversary
2017 ICF sponsors 4th International Forum of MGIMO Alumni in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
2017 Japanese MGIMO Club takes place at J-Fest 2017
2017 ICF’s Representative office opens in Uzbekistan
2018 ICF sponsors Muruvvat Foster home in Karshi, Uzbekistan
2018 ICF sponsors Specialized Boarding School No.32 in Jizzakh, and No. 19 in Chirakchi, Kashkadarya Region, Uzbekistan
2018 The Kubota Collection tours North America
2018 ICF presents its Japan-Russia projects at the exhibition in the Russian Parliament
2018 ICF’s documentary ‘Multifaceted Japan’ is broadcast on the Russian TV channel ‘Kultura’
2018 ICF awards new scholarships at MGIMO
2018 ICF sponsors the Kabuki Theatre tour in Russia
2018 The new exhibition of the Kubota Collection, ‘Itchiku Kubota: What do the Mountain Spirits Ponder?’ opens in Alberta, Canada.
2019 ICF sponsors 5th International Forum of MGIMO Alumni in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
2019 ICF presents its work at the Donors Forum in Moscow
2019 ICF supports the development of the Syrdarya province in Uzbekistan
2019 ICF’s documentary about Japan, ‘On the Road to Trust: Russians in Japan’ is screened at the International Film Festival in Vladivostok, Russia
2019 ICF sponsors opera ‘Kumush’, opened at The Navoi Theatre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
2019 ICF wins The Best Cultural Event of the Year award by ‘Kimono’ magazine
2019 ICF sponsors The Intellectual Games in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
2019 ICF is awarded an Honorary Diploma of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
2019 Dr Chodiev is awarded ‘Patron of the Year’ in St. Petersburg, Russia
2019 Dr Chodiev is awarded the Order of the Friendship of the Russian Federation.
2020 ICF provides social support during COVID-19 epidemic
2020 ICF supports publication of an anthology of Russian and Japanese novels
2020 Itchiku Kubota kimono: exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum
2020 ICF premiers documentaries ‘Building Trust: Russians in Japan’ and ‘Hokkaido: The Way to the Northern Seas’
2020 ICF supports ‘SMIrotvorets’ journalism competition
2020 ICF premiers documentaries ‘Building Trust: Russians in Japan’ and ‘Hokkaido: The Way to the Northern Seas’
2020 ICF supports ‘SMIrotvorets’ journalism competition
2020 Dr Patokh Chodiev awarded the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun
2020 J-Fest festival is held online
2020 ICF awarded ‘The most active non-profit organisation’ in Uzbekistan
2020 ICF supports ‘Children of Russia’ photo competition
2020 ICF and MGIMO-Tashkent sign a long-term Memorandum of Cooperation, ICF announces new scholarship programme
2020 ICF’s sponsored ‘Kubota’s Kimonos: A History on Silk’ documentary takes part in The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival and at the Master of Art Film Festival
2021 ICF-supported Festival of Russian Culture takes place in Japan
2021 ‘Future of Charity in Russia: the International Chodiev Foundation experience’ book presented in London.

Establishment of the Foundation

The International Chodiev Foundation was established in 1996 by the successful businessman and keen philanthropist Dr Patokh Chodiev.

Having graduated magna cum laude from MGIMO 20 years earlier, Dr Chodiev maintained close ties with the university and decided to set up a charitable foundation that would help his alma mater to fulfil even more of its intellectual potential.

Passionate enthusiasm

The Foundation’s first project was the creation of an award and grant programme to recognize the academic achievements of existing MGIMO students.

This was expanded shortly afterwards to include a scholarship programme that would allow talented students who would not otherwise have the opportunity to progress their education. Over the next two decades, these initial projects were extended into a global programme that today encompasses nearly all the departments and faculties of the University.

In 2021, ICF signed the Memorandum of Cooperation with MGIMO-Tashkent, offering its support to the first foreign branch of MGIMO, and announcing its new scholarship programme for MGIMO-Tashkent students.

Extending our scope

Driven by an ambition to provide life-changing assistance to those in need, the Foundation began to explore partnerships with other schools, as well as with children’s homes and medical centers, and we became increasingly acclaimed for our work in the fields of humanitarian aid and education.

In 2002, the Foundation received an official message of thanks from Russian Patriarch Alexy II for our efforts “to preserve and expand Russia’s future intellectual potential” through the establishment of an educational institution for gifted children, founded in co-operation with Lomonosov Moscow State University.

In that same year, the Foundation aided the reconstruction of a church-run orphanage in Moscow and subsequently partnered with the Odessa Rehabilitation Center in Ukraine, “The House with an Angel”, which provides treatment and support for children with autism and cerebral palsy.

In 2017, ICF established its representative office in Uzbekistan, with the main purpose of providing support to the scientific, medical and social projects in the country, and to offer assistance to schools, orphanages and medical institutions for children with disabilities.

In 2020, ICF has extended its social programme in Uzbekistan and Russia to help mitigate the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the most vulnerable members of society. The Foundation launched a range of programmes, amongst which were the distribution of food and sanitising supplies to people in need across Uzbekistan, provision of medical and personal protective equipment to the Research Institute of Virology in Tashkent, provision of both humanitarian and medical support to migrant workers from Uzbekistan and their families living in Moscow and Moscow oblast.

Inter-cultural promotion

In addition to our educational and humanitarian work, and driven by our founder’s deep-rooted love of Japanese culture and language, the Foundation has developed a broad range of intercultural activities between Japan and Russia over the past two decades. All with a view to forging closer links between the two countries.

Starting with the sponsorship of cultural events such as the Shostakovich music festival in Tokyo in 1998, and events around the development of the Russia Japan Treaty in 2000, the Foundation has gone on to partner and organize a host of Japanese cultural activities, in addition to supporting international research and educational placements for top MGIMO students in Japanese universities.

Since 2009, the Foundation has been the main sponsor of J-Fest, a popular annual festival of contemporary Japanese culture in Russia.

In 2015, the Foundation began to sponsor Russian Culture Days in Japan, gathering together more than 900 cultural experts to promote Russian theatre, cinema and exhibitions.

In the last five years the Foundation has expanded its scope of cultural programmes to include the sponsorship of the Kabuki theatre tour in Russia, a creation of a trilogy of documentaries dedicated to the history of Japan, its culture, and its relationship with Russia and the Russian people (‘Multifaceted Japan’, ‘Building Trust: Russians in Japan’ and ‘Hokkaido: The Way to the Northern Seas’), a number of children and youth-related programmes across Russia (‘SMIrotvorets’ and ‘Children of Russia’ competitions), and cultural and art events in Uzbekistan (commemorating Shuhrat Abbasov, premier of ‘Kumush’ opera).

Our Founder’s long-standing contribution to the development of economic and cultural relations between Japan and Russia was recognised in 2020 by two prestigious awards – The Order of the Rising Sun (the highest Order of Japan) and The Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation.

The Itchiku Kubota Museum

As testament to Dr Chodiev’s appreciation of Japanese art and tradition, in 2011 he rescued the Itchiku Kubota Museum and its world-famous collection of 104 Kubota kimono from financial difficulty, preserving them for future generations.

Since then, the Foundation has organized and sponsored exhibitions of the kimono around the world, bringing their beauty to new audiences. Please visit The Kubota Collection website to find out more about the master, his legacy and the museum.

Looking to the future

Since its inception in 1996, the Foundation has evolved into a global philanthropic center for education, academic research, the arts and humanitarian causes.

We’re incredibly proud of all that we’ve achieved so far, but we also keenly look forward to continuing what we see as incredibly important and varied roles in people’s lives, to starting new and valuable initiatives, and to partnering with other positive, philanthropic causes and institutions to reach out even further.