Kremlin boots USAID for ‘interference’ in Russian politics; The Kremlin, already suspicious of US involvement in the street protests against Vladimir Putin, ordered development agency USAID to cease operations in Russia by Oct. 1.
By Fred Weir – Christian Science Monitor – September 19, 2012
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The Christian Science Monitor reports on Russia’s decision to shut down USAID operations in that country, with Russia accusing them of interference in Russian internal politics.
While USAID has funded a wide variety of programs in Russia, there is speculation that heightened sensitivity is over the issue of election monitoring:
A list of USAID programs in Russia shows that the agency has supported a wide range of causes, including child welfare, HIV/AIDS prevention, promotion of professional exchanges, consultation on legislation, microfinance for Russian small businesses, assistance in restructuring the Russian electricity sector, helping the disabled, protecting wildlife, and fighting human trafficking.
The controversial aspects of its work, from the Kremlin’s point of view, would probably include USAID being a “proud supporter of Russia’s oldest human rights organizations that have been pivotal in promoting support for democratic values throughout Russia.”
Another issue might be the agency’s backing for “civil society organizations whose number and influence has grown from 40 registered organizations in 1987 to approximately 300,000 today, not including state-funded public organizations. These organizations contribute to Russia’s economic, political and social life in numerous ways and provide opportunities for citizens to help create better communities and elevate their voices,” according to the USAID website.
The authors of the Russian NGO bill singled out as their main targets organizations like the grassroots election-monitoring group Golos, whose thousands of polling station observers were instrumental in detecting and publicizing alleged mass fraud in last December’s Duma elections.
Golos has been a major recipient of funds from USAID.
Over the span of two decades, USAID has invested nearly $3 billion in Russian programs, and $50 million was now budgeted annually. The State Department indicates it might find alternative ways to support human rights and nonprofits in Russia.
Meanwhile, the USAID expulsion comes amidst worsening U.S.-Russian ties, and the new “foreign agent” law passed by the Russian Duma:
The move comes amid generally deteriorating relations between Moscow and Washington and ongoing suspicions on the part of the Kremlin that the pro-democracy protest movement that erupted after allegedly fraudulent Duma elections last December has been funded and directed from abroad.
It also coincides with the coming into force of a new law, passed by the State Duma in June, which requires most Russian non-governmental organizations that engage in “political activity” and receive any outside funding to register as “foreign agents” and describe themselves as such in all their public materials.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry posted a tough statement on Wednesday, saying that USAID has been ordered to cease operations in Russia by Oct. 1, because “the character of the agency’s representatives’ work in our country did not always comply with the declared aims of cooperation in bilateral humanitarian cooperation,” it said.
“We are talking about [USAID] issuing grants in an attempt to affect the course of the political process in the country, including elections at different levels and institutions in civil society,” it added.