Due to technical issues at Mishka Soho, the venue has been changed to Privé located at 119 Essex Street in the Lower East Side.

Hope you could join us at 6:30 PM - 10 PM on Thursday, October 19th at Privé for an evening of cocktails, canapes, music and good company!

Age: 21 - 45

Dress Code: Business Casual / Cocktail Attire

Admission: $85 per person

Space is very limited. No tickets sold at the door. Please reserve your tickets via Eventbrite.

Looking forward to seeing you on October 19th.

RCWS Young Patrons Committee

Due to rising COVID cases in New York City and the Omicron variant's extremely high transmission rate, the 56th Petroushka Ball will no longer take place on February 11, 2022. The new date is February 3, 2023.

We had to adapt our plans to ensure the well-being, health and safety of all involved. We very much hope that you will support the Russian Children's Welfare Society (RCWS) and attend the 2023 Petroushka Ball.

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Currently, RCWS provides scholarships to 25 gifted young artists affiliated with the Spivakov Foundation, established by renowned concert violinist Vladimir Spivakov, to help disadvantaged children in Russia develop their musical and artistic talent.

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Despite the pandemic canceling the RCWS Annual Yelka celebration, in December 2020 the RCWS team delivered Christmas gifts to 2,500 children from over 20 organizations (orphanages, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, schools) in Pskov, Yaroslavl, Kislovodsk, Ryazan, Kostroma, Novomoskovsk, Moscow & Moscow region. For most of these children it is the only present they have received throughout the year. We thank our supporters for helping us to bring the holidays cheer to children in need.

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On October 22, 2020, our partners at the Pskov Children’s Fund hosted a meeting for the RCWS new scholarship recipients in Pskov. This year’s student’s reunion meeting took place at the local café “Chocolate”. Daria Yakovleva, Advisor to Governor of Russia’s Pskov region spoke about the importance of education, shared her career advice, and described the benefits of volunteer work. During the meeting the students introduced themselves, learned about the RCWS and scholarship project, received the RCWS certificates and their stipends, warmly thanking the Society and our donors. In 2020-2021 academic year 50 scholarship recipients from Pskov will receive a monthly stipend from RCWS. 

To learn more about the RCWS Scholarship program, visit

In spring 2020, after devastating Moscow, the coronavirus was spreading across Russia's 11 time zones including some of the country's most remote regions where underfunded hospitals were even less able to manage the crisis. This has put health workers at increased risk. It is also important to stress that over 7% of coronavirus cases in Russia are children.

In response to the epidemic, RCWS joined the efforts of Rusfond (Russian Aid Foundation) and established the COVID-19 Russia Relief Fund to help save young patients, protect medics treating infected patients and to equip hospitals with critically needed protective gear.

First, RCWS sponsored the purchase of 100 hazmat suits for medical personnel at the Children's Hospital #2 in Voronezh (totaling $13,800). During March-May 2020, 80 children diagnosed with COVID-19 were treated at the Children’s Hospital #2 in Voronezh. The youngest patient was 4 month old. We are happy to report that 40 children were already released home.

Rusfond continues to receive requests from local hospitals in desperate need of help and collaborates with reliable factories to insure prompt delivery of protective equipment to the hospitals.  

With our donors support, RCWS transfered $16,955 to help the following three hospitals: the Regional Children's Hospital in Yekaterinburg, the Tolyatti Children's Hospital, and the Regional Pediatric Infection Diseases Hospital in Saratov.

The Regional Children's Hospital in Yekaterinburg was established in 1957. In 2010, the Perinatal Center was launched, delivering an average of 5,000 babies annually. Today the Children's Hospital in Yekaterinburg is a large multidisciplinary complex, with a capacity of 727 beds. Annually over 18,000 children and 6,500 women are treated at this hospital, over 3,500 surgical inpatient procedures are performed, and 130,000 children receive consultations. Over 5,000 children with bronchopulmonary diseases are observed and treated at the hospital each year. Thanks to our efforts, the hospital received the requested Airvo2 system delivering oxygen and respiratory support to patients, totaling $5,724. 
 
The Tolyatti Children's Hospital No. 1 was founded in 1988. Currently, it is a multidisciplinary medical facility with 308 beds, treating up to 10,000 children annually. The hospital has 12 departments, including Pulmonology and an ICU. To help stop the spread of COVID-19, the hospital requested five healthcare facility air re-circulation UV irradiators to disinfect the air, as well as 630 29-oz skin antiseptic units with dispensers, totaling $5,623. The requested equipment was delivered and installed at the hospital. 
 
The Regional Pediatric Infection Diseases Hospital in Saratov was established in 1946. The hospital provides diagnostics and treatment of children with acute respiratory and airborne infections, among others. The hospital needed re-usable FFP3 respirator masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect their health workers. The 530 FFP3 masks (totaling $5,608) were sponsored by the RCWS and delivered to the hospital.

In May 2021, RCWS allocated $4,898 to the Tolyatti Children’s Hospital #1 in Samara Region towards the following equipment: 1 defibrillator to run the electrocardiogram tests and provide emergency assistance; 1 infusion pump for medicine dosing and administration; 3 metered dose infusion sets; 20 nebulizers for inhalation procedures; 1 electric mucus suction pump for sputum removal from the respiratory tract. Tolyatti Children's Hospital #1 is a multi-disciplinary 24-hour hospital with a capacity of 308 beds providing medical care to over 10,000 children annually. Tolyatti Children’s Hospital #1 designated 40 hospital beds for treating children with pneumonia and infected with COVID-19.

As part of the COVID-19 Russia Relief Fund in spring 2021 the RCWS provided $5,675 towards a steam autoclave for medical waste recycling and utilization at the Children’s Hospital #2 in Voronezh.

In May 2021, RCWS awarded $4,729 to the Children’s Clinical Hospital in Kazan towards 1 video laryngoscope; 10 pulse oximeters to measure blood oxygen level; 10 nebulizers for inhalation procedures.  The Children’s Clinical Hospital in Kazan provides medical care to over 840,000 children living in the Republic of Tatarstan.

Your donation could provide:
Respirator FFP2 - $7
100 Medical Masks - $20
Respiratory Ventilator Circuit - $110
Hazmat Biohazard Suit (offering maximum protection) - $138 
No Contact Infrared Digital Thermometer - $185
UV Light Medical Sterilizer - $370
Oxygen Concentrator Armed 8F-5AW - $1,930

To support the COVID-19 Russia Relief Fund or the RCWS on-going projects, please visit the Donate page on our web site.

Thank you for your support!

Photo source: Rusfond. Coronavirus. 

The 55th Annual Petroushka Ball took place on February 7th 2020 at the legendary Plaza Hotel and featured a stunning performance by mezzo-soprano Serena Malfi and tenor Ben Bliss, who appeared by kind permission of the Metropolitan Opera. 

The evening entertainment program included a dance by Denys Drozdyuk and Antonina Skobina. In addition the Barynya Balalaika Orchestra and the Folk Dance Club “Kaleidoscope” energized the guests with Russian folk music and dance.

We are excited to announce that the Russian Children’s Welfare Society has earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. This is the highest possible rating by Charity Navigator. That means we have taken steps to be accountable, transparent and financially healthy.

Last December, RCWS personnel and volunteers, together with “Ded Moroz” (Russian Santa Claus), visited the Orphanage in Shatura, which houses 150 children with special needs, as well as over 100 little patients at the Moscow Center for Maxillofacial Surgery and the Institute of Rheumatology in Moscow to distribute gifts and bring some magic to their holiday.

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RCWS has made it a tradition to gather our scholarship recipients for a reunion every summer. This year’s Pskov students reunion took place on July 12th in Pleskov, a retreat overlooking the Pskov Lake, and was covered by a local newspaper. 

This year, Michael Narinsky, representing the young supporters and the Russian MBA Club in NYC, joined the meeting online and conducted a workshop for the students. In addition to the diploma ceremony, students had a chance to engage in sport activities: swimming, playing beach volleyball, biking. After lunch, the participants shared their college experiences and thanked sponsors – RCWS supporters. 

During the 2017-2018 academic year, 40 RCWS scholarship recipients were attending colleges and universities in Pskov region. As of today, 46 students from Pskov region completed their studies, received diplomas and found employment.

Since the inception of the RCWS scholarship program 15 years ago, the number of participants has grown from 3 in the 2003-2004 academic year to 153 students in 2017-2018 in the Pskov, Yaroslavl and Moscow regions. This help is much needed since only 4% of orphans graduating from high schools in Russia are accepted to colleges.  These children often lack the financial support, guidance, motivation, and self assurance needed to pursue the college education in order to improve their prospects in life.

We are proud that foundations from Austria, Holland, and Norway used the RCWS model of the scholarship program and started to assist other orphans in Pskov region, who are eager to continue their education and receive a college diploma & profession, expanding the total number of students.

To sponsor a student, call the office at 212-473-6263 or email us at main@rcws.org

To learn more about RCWS Scholarship Project please click here 

The 53rd Annual Petroushka Ball took place on February 9th 2018 at the legendary Plaza Hotel and featured an exclusive performance by Ildar Abdrazakov, bass and Lyubov Petrova, soprano, who appeared by kind permission of the Metropolitan Opera. 

ANASTASIA The Musical on Broadway featured Stephanie Rothenberg. Over 700 guests attended the Ball this year.

The Petroushka Ball is the primary fundraising event for the Russian Children’s Welfare Society (RCWS).  Since its inception in 1965, the Petroushka Ball has been one of the most vibrant and important Russian-American events in New York. The Ball is a strictly black tie soiree attended by over 700 guests representing business, artistic and diplomatic spheres. Past Petroushka Ball events have featured leading soloists of the Metropolitan Opera, the American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Bolshoi Theater, and other prominent companies.

One of the Petroushka Ball unique features is two distinguished orchestras – The Lester Lanin Orchestra in the Grand Ballroom coupled with the Barynya Balalaika Orchestra in the Terrace Room playing a boisterous set of popular Russian gypsy music, Cossack songs, and lively balalaika arrangements to the early hours of the morning.

We would like to thank the following Sponsors and Supporters: Access Industries, Aeroflot-Russian Airlines, Blavatnik Family Foundation, Countess Tatiana Bobrinskoy, Svetlana Afanasiev, BleuStorm Vodka, Charles Krause, Susan Carmel Lehrman, Clé de Peau Beauté, Confident Care Corp., Dr. Andrei Dukhin, Elke Geacintov, Gourmanoff, Eric and Olga Jorgensen, Loeb Partners Corporation, Love Caviar Club, Elena Orlukova, Peter Picard, John Pouschine, Steinway & Sons, Peter Tcherepnine, Valerio 888.

Special thanks to our Benefactors: Susan and Susan Crane, Peter and Natalia Derby, Dr. Theodore Diktaban, Andrew and Blake Foote, Dr. Natalya Fazylova, Maxim Izmailov, Joseph McAlinden and Olena Molotova, Thomas and Ellen McPartland, NetCost Market, Palais des Thés, Dr. Irina Pankova, Dmitry Sholokhov, Alexander Slepnev, Alex Soldier, Radiance Aesthetics & Wellness, Russian Samovar, WarmPalate.

This past December, over 1,100 children traveled great distances to participate in the 18^th annual Yelka (Christmas Tree) celebration at the Teatrium on Serpukhovka in Moscow and see the holiday show “Sword of Samurai” and to receive a gift.