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I'm an independent alignment researcher in Russia. Imagine someone wants to donate money to me (from Europe/UK/America/etc). How can I receive the money? It's really crucial for me to receive at least 100$ per month, at least for a couple of months. Even 40$ per month would be a small relief. [EDIT: my latest, most well-received, and only published alignment research is here.]

Down below are all the methods I learned about after asking people, Google, Youtube and LLMs:

Crypto. The best option. But currently I'm a noob at crypto.
There are some official ways to get money into Russia, but the bank can freeze those transfers or start an inquiry.
Some freelance artists use Boosty (Patreon-like site). But Boosty can stall money transfers for months and more. If your account doesn't have subscribers and legitimate content, it can rise suspicion of the site.
Someone from a 'friendly country' or from Russia itself could act as an intermediary. The last link on this page refers to a network of russian alignment researchers. (Additional challenge: I don't have a smartphone. With a dumbphone it's not practically possible to register in Telegram. But most russian alignment researchers are there.)
Get out of Russia. Impossible for me, even with financial help.

What should I do? Is there any system for supporting russian researchers?

Also, if I approach a fellow russian researcher about my problem, what should I say? I don't have experience in this.

Needless to say, the situation is pretty stressful to me. Imagine getting a chance to earn something for your hard work, but then you can't get even pennies because of absolutely arbitrary restrictions imposed by your own state.

EDIT 2: I got help. Thanks everyone!

2Alaric1y

Maybe you can find a freelance job? For example, people who can do alignment research usually know how to write code. Or maybe you could give private lessons (math or computer science)? Yes, you should spend time on this, but I think it could make your situation more stable than donations.

Reasonable advice. Sadly, I can't do math or programming. My work is philosophical/conceptual/informal in the way some Arbital articles are informal. In terms of teaching, maybe I could teach chess. I play somewhat good (2100+ in different time formats on Lichess and Chess. com).

1Q Home1y

Thanks a lot for willingness to go into details. And for giving advice on messaging other researchers. No offense taken. The marriage option was funny, hope I never get that desperate. Getting official grants is probably not possible for me, but thanks for the suggestion. [...] My wording was deliberate. It's one thing to sanction another country, and another thing to "sanction yourself".