(opendemocracy.net – Anna Sharogradskaya – July 31, 2013) Anna Sharogradskaya is the director of the Regional Press Institute in St Petersburg, lecturer in Journalism and social activist. St Petersburg’s Regional Press Institute has defended Russian media rights for the last two decades. Like other similar organisations, it has been subjected to various forms of governmental harassment, but has managed to […]
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Subject: Call for Nominations Klebnikov Fellowship Program From: The Paul Klebnikov Fellowship at the Harriman Institute <lch2111@columbia.edu> Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 Columbia University Harriman Institute Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies Dear Friends and Colleagues, We write to ask for your help in identifying extraordinary candidates for the Harriman Institute’s Paul Klebnikov Russian Civil Society Fellowship for the 2013/14 […]
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From: “US-Russia Dialogue, Moscow” <US-RussiaDialogue@state.gov> Subject: US-Russia Peer-to-Peer Dialogue Program Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 U.S.-Russia Peer-to-Peer Dialogue Program To help foster greater contacts between Americans and Russians, the State Department is announcing the U.S.-Russia Peer-to-Peer Dialogue Program, which will provide small grants to support collaboration, including meetings, virtual interactions, exchanges, and internships, between American and Russian organizations. Applications from […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 19, 2013) The Federal Tax Service has accused election watchdog Golos of not paying 2.28 million rubles ($70,200) in income taxes in 2009-10 on funding it received from USAID, in what rights activists see as the latest in a string of state attacks on independent observers. Auditors from Tax Inspectorate No. 9 concluded that […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 18, 2013) A court in Perm has ruled not to punish local nongovernmental organization Grany Center for refusing to register as a “foreign agent,” a news report said Thursday. Prosecutors had asked the court to find Grany Center guilty of violating the controversial law passed in November requiring all groups that receive foreign funding […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 17, 2013) The U.S. State Department has announced a grant competition for Russian organizations to create programs improving relations between the two countries. The U.S. announcement about the competition, called the U.S.-Russia Peer-to-Peer Dialogue Program, comes amid what is perceived to be a crackdown by Russian authorities on nongovernmental organizations that detect and publicize […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 15, 2013) The Russian voter rights movement Golos (Voice) said it counted on receiving 14 million rubles from the state budget for its program whose aim is to increase public confidence in elections. “We have drafted a project, which is aimed at increasing society’s trust in the voting infrastructure and have written an application, which we […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – July 15, 2013) The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has conducted a large-scale inspection of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and discovered that more than 1,800 had received financing from abroad in the last year. A law requiring NGOs involved in political activity and receiving money from abroad to register as foreign […]
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(Interfax – St. Petersburg, July 10, 2013) The Federation Council is concerned that Russia is losing influence in the post-Soviet space because of the lack of funds to finance Russian NCOs (noncommercial organizations) which work there. Igor Morozov, a member of the Committee on International Affairs, told a Federation Council meeting on Wednesday (10 July) that the European Union and […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – July 11, 2013) Russia’s Prosecutor General Yury Chaika has claimed that non-government organizations lack oversight and are capable of undermining state interests, after revealing that three NGOs were allegedly involved in terrorist activity, while 20 NGOs violated tax regulations. Chaika’s calls for more oversight have come amid debates in wake of a […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 11, 2013) Over half of Russians support tough measures implemented against NGOs, while nearly a third don’t know what activities these organizations are actually engaged in, a Levada Center poll suggests. A controversial law was passed in November requiring all groups that receive foreign funding and engage in “political activity” to register as “foreign […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW. July 10, 2013) The Russian human rights and educational society Memorial has dismissed Prosecutor General Yury Chaika’s statement that Memorial has set up a ramified structure in order to evade registration as a foreign agent. “Memorial (branches) emerged in many cities and consolidated into one organization on its own, and it had nothing to do with those […]
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(Interfax – July 9, 2013) Russia’s human rights ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin, has said he hopes the controversy over Russia’s “foreign agent” NGO law will subside if the legislation is amended to clearly distinguish between organizations engaged in political activity and those working on social issues, Russian privately-owned Interfax news agency reported on 9 July.(1) “Everything depends on which amendments are […]
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(Interfax – July 9, 2013) Over 2,000 non-governmental organizations (NGO) operating in Russia received over 30 billion rubles since the new law on NGOs came into effect, Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said. “Since the law came into effect – since November 2012 until April 2013 – NGOs received generally (…) 30.8 billion rubles,” Chaika told Russian President Vladimir Putin. […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 4, 2013) A veteran Russian human rights defender insisted on Thursday that Russia ditch its law that prescribes “foreign agent” status for foreign-funded Russian nonprofit organizations (NPOs) that are involved in domestic political activities. “I am convinced that this law must be repealed,” Lyudmila Alexeyeva, leader of the Moscow Helsinki Group, told Interfax. She was commenting […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, July 1, 2013) The presidential council for human rights (CHR), having examined the situation with the eviction of members of the movement For Human Rights from their office, has urged the head of state to take measures to protect non-commercial organizations (NGOs) in cases of this kind. “Considering this conflict in the general context of current tasks […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yulia Ponomareva, RBTH – July 1, 2013) The Movement For Human Rights is among dozens of organizations teetering on the brink of a shutdown for protesting new legislation on NGOs and the first one that authorities have evicted by force. Lev Ponomarev, a 71-year-old human rights activist, is going through a hard time […]
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(Interfax – June 28, 2013) The Golos non-governmental association has paid fines imposed by court for refusing to register as a foreign agent. “We fulfilled the court ruling categorically and paid both fines imposed,” Golos Deputy Director Grigory Melkonyants told Interfax on June 27. On April 25, the magistrate precinct of Moscow’s Presnensky Court fined Golos 300,000 rubles ($9,000) and […]
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(Interfax – June 28, 2013) Moscow prosecutors inspected the movement For Human Rights because its leader Lev Ponomaryov organized political actions and there is information that this NGO is receiving money from abroad. The organization “has been found to receive money from foreign organizations and engage in political activities,” a representative of the Moscow prosecutors said in the Moscow Zamoskvoretsky […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 28, 2013) The state roster of “foreign agents” among Russian nongovernmental organizations finally added its first entry on Thursday, a year after it was established, the Justice Ministry said Friday. The first organization to voluntarily sign up as a “foreign agent” was the Supporting Competition in CIS Countries noncommercial partnership, which had not made […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 27, 2013) Moscow prosecutors have launched a probe into Saturday’s eviction of a Russian human rights organization from its office, a Moscow deputy prosecutor said on Wednesday. “The city’s prosecutor instructed to probe actions by Moscow Mayor’s office officials and by police officers,” Moscow First Deputy Prosecutor Alexander Kozlov said, adding that prosecutors would also […]
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(RIA Novosti – Moscow, June 26, 2013) The suspension by the Justice Ministry of the operation of the Golos (Voice, or Vote) association will not prevent its leaders from registering a new and similar organization; moreover, Golos has recently launched the winding-up procedure, deputy executive director of the association Grigoriy Melkonyants has told RIA Novosti. The Justice Ministry has suspended […]
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Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 Kennan Institute <kennan@WILSONCENTER.ORG> Subject: Kennan Institute – Last Call for RSVPs Kennan Institute/Wilson Center Last Call for RSVPs Our June 26 half-day conference cosponsored with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Generation Next: Emerging Civic Leaders in Russia Today, is almost full. If you wish to attend, make sure to respond today so we can accomodate […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW. June 24, 2013) Police and private security guards crushed a computer in evicting Russia’s For Human Rights group from its Moscow headquarters early on Saturday, according to the organization’s leader. For Human Rights, one of Russia’s oldest and largest rights groups, was thrown out of its office in the city center in a predawn raid because of […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 25, 2013) Russian billionaire-turned-politician Mikhail Prokhorov, who leads the Civil Platform party, will donate 1.5 million rubles ($45,870) to pay the annual rent for a Russian human rights group evicted from its office last weekend, a party member said on Tuesday. Prokhorov made his pledge at a meeting with Lev Ponomaryov, leader of the […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 22, 2013) Russian Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin described as arbitrary the eviction of the organization For Human Rights from its office in Maly Kislovsky Street in Moscow by city law enforcement agencies early on Saturday. “We will discuss with lawyers how to react to what happened,” Lukin told Interfax on Saturday. “Moscow authorities and police […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 20, 2013) Russian State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin believes it is important that society should understand that the legislation on NGOs is not restrictive in nature and the state is interested in increasing the number of NGOs and their unimpeded work. “As for NGOs, it is, of course, important that society should understand that the law […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Heather Maher – June 18, 2013) Countries in Central Europe and Central Asia are increasingly being ruled by autocratic governments with little regard for democracy, according to the 2013 “Nations In Transit” report by democracy watchdog Freedom House. The result has been a worsening of existing corruption, media censorship, and violence against political opposition, the group […]
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(Interfax – June 18, 2013) The Law on Nongovernmental Organizations will be adjusted and its provisions dealing with unscheduled inspections will be amended, the Russian government said on its website citing its resolution of June 17. Article 32 will be amended and it will list the following reasons for ordering unscheduled inspections on nonprofit organizations: expiration of the deadline for […]
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(kremlin.ru – Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region – June 14, 2013) Vladimir Putin met with representatives of the Civil 20, an international forum for dialogue between civil society organisations, politicians and experts from the G20 countries. Taking part in the meeting were delegates to the Civil 20 summit, taking place in Moscow on June 13-14, from Russia, Mexico, and Australia, the three […]
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(RIA Novosti – NOVO-OGARYOVO, June 14, 2013) Russian legislation regarding non-governmental organizations is far more liberal that of other countries, President Vladimir Putin said Friday, in an implicit response to Western criticism that recent Russian legislation on NGOs is too restrictive. “Our legislation is more liberal,” he said in Moscow at a meeting of the Civil 20, the arm […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 14, 2013) Head of a leading non-governmental organization (NGO) in Russia, the Historical, Enlightenment and Human Rights Society Memorial, Arseny Roginsky, said he did not see any sense in elaborating the law obliging NGOs with foreign financing to register as foreign agents. “It is impossible to elaborate this law. It violates the right on freedom of […]
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(Interfax – June 13, 2013) The law on non-governmental organizations (NGO) acting as foreign agents may be amended, says Ksenia Yudayeva, the chief of the Russian presidential expert directorate. “I think a lot of laws we adopt are later discussed and subjected to an adjustment process,” Yudayeva told journalists at the Civil G20 Summit in Moscow on Thursday. “For any […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 13, 2013) Non-governmental organizations in Russia have found a way to bypass the law requiring them to register as “foreign agents,” a news report said Thursday. An official in one NGO told Kommersant that his agency is planning to set up a commercial organization which will officially receive foreign grants. The main NGO will […]
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(Interfax – June 13, 2013) Moscow is hosting the Civil 20 Summit on June 13-14. This is the final event of the civil track within the framework of Russia’s official chairmanship of the G20. The summit’s principal objective is to promote productive dialogue between global civil society, politicians, and decision-makers based on priorities declared in the Russian chairmanship’s official agenda. […]
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(Interfax – ST. PETERSBURG, June 11, 2013) Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov has supported the need for a new bill, which is currently being debated, to provide a wider range of grounds permitting inspections of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the country. “The bill that broadens the range of grounds for such inspections is in the stage of preliminary debates at […]
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(Interfax – June 10, 2013) Official spokesman for the Russian Investigations Committee Vladimir Markin has said that human rights activists do not always take an objective stance on some criminal cases and sometimes come up with ideas which are destructive for law and order, privately-owned Interfax news agency reported on 10 June. “Alas, numerous social commentators and human rights activists […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, June 6, 2013) A number of Russian rights activists have stood up for the Golos NGO and other organizations that have been labelled foreign agents, saying that their work should not be labelled political. “Accusations about NGOs taking part in political activities strikes out citizens’ constitutional rights,” reads Rights Council statement released in Moscow on Thursday (6 […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Lyubov Chizhova and Claire Bigg – June 5, 2013) On June 5, “green-minded” people around the planet are marking World Environment Day, created in 1972 to raise awareness about the need to protect nature. But in Russia, the mood among ecologists is sour. Russia established its own Ecologist Day, also held on June 5, six years […]
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(Interfax – June 5, 2013) Around 20 Russian major environmental non-governmental organizations (NGO) have received prosecutors’ requests to register as foreign agents. “Around 20 environmental organizations have received prosecutors’ requests. Those who sound familiar, who comprise the environmental movement and who are not of just regional importance have received the requests,” Director of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW. June 5, 2013) Rosfinmonitoring is monitoring the receipt by Russian NGOs of funding from abroad and reports to the Justice Ministry on a monthly basis, Justice Ministry official Tatyana Vagina said. Rosfinmonitoring provides information to the Justice Ministry for internal use, Vagina said. “If an NGO does not provide information on funding received from abroad despite information […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 5, 2013) The government’s legislative commission has approved a draft amendment giving the authorities additional grounds on which to carry out unscheduled inspections of nongovernmental groups that violate Russian law, the Justice Ministry said Tuesday. According to the draft amendment, checks can be undertaken if violations are not fixed within time limits set by […]
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(Interfax – HARBIN, China, May 29, 2013) China as well as Russia is concerned with the issue of non-governmental organizations (NGO) receiving foreign financing and trying to influence the interior policy of the country, Russia’s State Duma First Deputy Speaker Ivan Melnikov, representing the Russian Communist Party faction, said about the results of the visit of Russian parliamentarians to China. […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 30, 2013) Independent pollster Levada Center will not accept any more foreign grants while its status hangs in the balance, Interfax reported Thursday. In mid-May prosecutors issued a warning to the polling agency citing a breach of legislation passed in November which requires politically engaged NGOs that receive foreign funding to register as “foreign […]
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(RIA Novosti, MOSCOW, May 30, 2013) A group of leading Russian economists has called on the government to reconsider a controversial new law that obliges some NGOs to register as “foreign agents,” saying it threatens to destroy the cooperation between independent experts and the authorities. The letter written by the economists, many of whom were involved in devising a […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 29, 2013) Memorial human rights center has filed a complaint with Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky Court to contest the demand of a Moscow prosecutor’s office to register as a foreign agent. “Memorial states in the lawsuit that the conclusions of the prosecutor’s office on the organization’s activities are groundless and that the information, on which the request of […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan & Kristen Blyth – May 27, 2013) Life as a pollster is hard enough. For the Levada Center, considered Russia’s only independent polling organization, life just got harder. “Imagine if someone comes to you and says, ‘I’m a foreign agent, please answer some questions,’” Levada Center Director Lev Gudkov told The Moscow News. […]
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(Interfax – May 24, 2013) The Memorial international public organization in Russia is involved in political activities and is financed from the United States, a prosecutor’s office said. “It has been determined that the organization received over 52 million rubles (about $1,6 million) in 2010 from foreign citizens or people without citizenship and 40 million rubles (near $1,3 million) in […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 23, 2013) Amnesty International said Vladimir Putin’s return to the Kremlin was marked by large-scale attacks on freedom of assembly and of expression, resulting in a large number of politically motivated criminal cases and repressive legislation. “Two new laws and 11 amendments to current legislation were made last year amid broadly weakened dissent,” head […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, May 21, 2013) The Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday urged the European Union to abstain from “ideology-based” remarks on the issue of non-governmental organizations in Russia. The statement, posted on the ministry’s website, was made in the wake of the May 17 meeting between the Foreign Ministry’s Special Representative for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule […]
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