About us

LAPA was founded by Natalia Chumak in early 2013. We celebrate LAPA’s birthday on the 1st March.
Our work has evolved considerably over the years but we remain a small charity run by a team of dedicated volunteers.
There is a lot of animal suffering in Russia. There is a lot of animal cruelty and neglect, not to mention disease and harsh weather conditions. We focus our efforts on cats and dogs. There are millions of strays and abandoned pets in Russia whose future is bleak.

Through Shelter Support, Veterinary Treatment and Rehoming Programmes we help those who need our help right now. We also work on preventing animal suffering in the future through our Neutering Programme (by reducing the number of animals who will end up in the streets) and through our unique Educational Programme for children (by teaching them how to treat animals responsibly).

In terms of geography, we work in a number of relatively small areas in Central Russia where we have established good contacts over the years.

Natalia Chumak

Founder and Trustee

Natalia is an English qualified solicitor and is a partner in a law firm in the City of London. Before founding LAPA, Natalia had rescued and helped many cats and dogs in various countries including Russia, England, Tajikistan, Mauritius, Spain and BVI. Natalia has 4 rescue pets – 2 cats and 2 dogs. Some of her pets have special needs.

Olga Bronina

Rehoming Coordinator

Olga has been involved in rescuing and looking after rescued dogs for many years. She has two rescue dogs. Olga is responsible for the running of our Rehoming Programme in the UK.

Simon Moore

Trustee

Simon is a retired solicitor and a former partner in a law firm in the City of London. He is an avid animal lover, an experienced amateur ornithologist and has an interest in the marine environment.

Carla Brown

Trustee

Carla grew up in Australia surrounded by rescue animals. Having worked for years in a demanding professional environment in the City of London and in Australia, Carla has brought a lot of valuable organisational skills into LAPA's work.

Irina Gilbert

Design and Social sites