NGO Checks In Russia To Become More Organized And ‘Systematic’ – Minister

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(RIA Novosti – St Petersburg, May 16, 2013) Inspections of non-commercial organizations in Russia will continue but they will become more balanced and systematic, Justice Minister Aleksandr Konovalov has said. “Over the last year, legislation on NCOs has been seriously renewed. These inspections had not been carried out for a long time. Now, somehow too many were planned and inspected, […]

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Judicial probe needed into activities of Stalin’s security agencies – rights group

File Photo of Prison in Russia with Wall, Barbed Wire, Guard Tower

(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 16, 2013) A leading Russian human rights group has called for a judicial inquiry into the activities of Stalin-era security services after a high-profile public figure accused a Soviet counterintelligence service that existed during World War II of methods similar to those of Nazi Germany’s security agencies. Leonid Gozman, head of humanitarian projects at state corporation […]

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Golos vote-monitoring association may be suspended if not registered as foreign agent – official

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(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 15, 2013) The operations of the Golos association specializing in monitoring elections in Russia may be suspended for half a year if a court recognizes it as a foreign agent but it still refuses to be registered as such, a Justice Ministry official has said. Speaking at a roundtable discussion at the State Duma on Wednesday, […]

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Russia: No NGOs Have Registered As ‘Foreign Agents’

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(RIA Novosti – May 15, 2013) None of the NGOs financed from abroad and involved in political activities have fulfilled their obligations under the law that requires them to register as “foreign agents”, RIA Novosti new agency quoted the deputy director of the Justice Ministry’s department for NGO issues, Tatyana Vagina, as saying in the State Duma on 15 May. […]

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Ponomaryov likes idea of Russian-U.S. fund to help human rights movement

Stylized Russian and U.S. Flags with Number 200, 1807-2007

(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 8, 2013) Lev Ponomaryov, executive director of the movement For Human Rights, said human rights activists who have recently met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry proposed the creation of a Russian-U.S. fund to help the human rights movement. “I made a proposal to create a Russian-U.S. fund to support the human rights movement on […]

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Russian rights veteran says ‘irritating’ NGOs will not avoid ‘foreign agent’ tag

Lyudmila Alekseyeva file photo

(Interfax – May 8, 2013) Russian rights veteran and head of the Moscow Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alekseyeva has said that the fate of certain NGOs is sealed as regards being required to register as a “foreign agent”. She also criticized the incumbent authorities for their crackdown on dissenters but said she did not expect the return of an Iron Curtain. […]

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Up to 95% of Russia’s NGOs are financed from abroad – Lev Ponomaryov

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(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 8, 2013) Lev Ponomaryov, leader of the movement For Human Rights, believes most of the NGOs operating in Russia are financed from abroad because the “Khodorkovsky case” has deterred Russian businesses from supporting human rights activists. “Businesses tried to begin financing our NGOs. The first person to do that was Khodorkovsky. Everything began very well, but […]

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Rights Activists Tell Kerry About State Pressure

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 8, 2013) The leaders of some of Russia’s largest nongovernmental organizations raised their concerns about a Kremlin crackdown during a meeting Wednesday with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry, who was wrapping up a two-day visit, met with the NGO representatives at Spaso House, the Moscow residence of U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul, before […]

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Rights Champions: Kremlin Wants to Close Russian NGOs

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(RIA Novosti – Alexey Eremenko – MOSCOW, May 8, 2013) ­ The Kremlin is trying to force the majority of independent nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Russia to shut down their operations, the leaders of two prominent Russian human rights groups said on Wednesday. “Independent [nongovernmental] organizations will simply cease to exist,” Lev Ponomaryov, the head of the For Human Rights […]

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The government inspectors

Vladimir Putin file photo

(opendemocracy.net – Anna Sevortian – May 1, 2013) Anna Sevortian is an independent expert who was formerly the Director of Human Rights Watch Russia. Gogol’s government inspector was a figure of fun. Russia’s new government inspectors are anything but funny. At a meeting with FSB leaders on 14 February, Vladimir Putin put an end to any doubts about his intention […]

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Will NGOs and Kremlin find a compromise amid inspections?

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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Pavel Koshkin, RBTH – April 30, 2013) While the Russian authorities sum up the results of their large-scale inspections of NGOs, pundits make their guesses as to whether it is possible to reach a compromise on this issue. The large-scale inspections of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have puzzled both experts and NGO representatives. While […]

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Trying to please: The NGO checks are not just political – they are also busy work in action

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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – April 29, 2013) Anna Arutunyan is an editor and correspondent at themoscownews.com As the head of an organization that helps people suffering from cystic fibrosis, an incurable genetic disorder that affects the lungs, Olga Alekina, of the Aid to Patients with Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, wasn’t exactly daunted when prosecutors demanded an explanation for […]

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Russian Public Chamber comes to defence of NGOs under attack

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(Interfax – April 29, 2013) More than ten members of the Russian Public Chamber have signed a statement in support of yet another NGO being checked in Russia in which they slammed the ongoing mass checks of non-profit organizations in the country in general, saying they lead to significant infringement of civil liberties, Russian news agency Interfax reported on 29 […]

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Rights Group Slams Order to Register as ‘Foreign Agent’

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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 30, 2013) Prosecutors in Russia’s republic of Tatarstan have ordered the Agora human rights group, which has provided legal assistance to people detained at anti-Kremlin protests, to register as a “foreign agent,” a demand it has dismissed as “unlawful.” Under a controversial law approved by President Vladimir Putin last year, NGOs funded from abroad and […]

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Authorities to sum up results of the NGO inspections

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(Interfax –  April 30, 2013) The inspections of non-governmental organizations (NGO) are not large-scale and the results will be summarized in late May, Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Grin wrote in a letter to Chairman of the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council Mikhail Fedotov. “The inspection does not pursue limiting NGO activities, it is preventive and aimed at forcing organizations […]

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Prosecutor General Chaika: Civil society’s interference in justice system’s work is unacceptable

Yury Chaika file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 27, 2013) Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika sees as unacceptable civil society’s pressure on the justice system. “Everyone should mind their own business. When a civil society institution reviews a court ruling, in my opinion, this is just unacceptable,” Chaika said taking questions from Federation Council members on Saturday. “There is nothing unusual in the fact […]

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Activists complain NGOs spend more time gathering documents for inspections than helping people

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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 24, 2013) Representatives of human rights organizations have said that the number of non-governmental organizations (NGO) inspected by state agencies is excessive. “Hundreds of NGOs were inspected by the tax service, the Ministry of Justice, fire, sanitary agencies and other bodies. Some agencies gave ridiculous demands, for instance, to confirm that all employees of the organization […]

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Prosecutors checking Levada Center pollster as part of NGO inspections

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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – April 24, 2013) Russian prosecutors, tax officials, and police are checking the offices of Levada Center, an independent polling organization, as part of a routine inspection of NGOs across the country, a source at the organization told The Moscow News on Wednesday. “They are checking the basic documents, the charter, financial documents […]

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Russian MP Slams Foreign Human Rights Bodies’ Reports Criticizing Country

Russian Duma Building

(RIA Novosti – April 24, 2013) The head of the inter-factional group of MPs for cooperation of institutions of civil society with law-enforcement bodies, Mikhail Starshinov, considers the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International organizations to be hostages of their stereotypes and has said that their reports are politicized, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on 24 April. On […]

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Leading Russian human rights groups speak out for embattled NGO

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(Interfax – Moscow, April 17, 2013) Heads of leading Russian NGOs disagree with accusations levelled by the authorities at the human rights association Golos facing a heavy fine. “We think it is absurd to say that the organization that led the fight for fair elections in Russia is acting in the interests of foreign states and is a foreign agent,” […]

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Russian opposition leader Navalnyy publishes his income declaration

Alexei Navalny file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, April 16, 2013) Opposition representative Aleksandr Navalnyy has published his income declaration for the year 2012, according to which his income from his work as a lawyer amounted to nearly R7.5m (about 183,000 dollars). Navalnyy posted his declaration on his webpage in Live Journal (http://navalny.livejournal.com/789792.html). According to the documents, the income from his activities as a lawyer […]

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Presidential Council Member Urges Clear Rules for NGO Checks

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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 16, 2013) Pavel Chikov, a member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, said on Monday that a clear set of rules for inspections of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is required. “There are no rules for prosecutors’ checks. In my opinion, this is the main lesson that we should learn from all these […]

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Not all Russian NGOs with foreign funds controlled by Justice Ministry – ministry official

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(Interfax – MOSCOW. April 15, 2013) The information on the multi-billion funding of non-governmental organizations (NGO) in Russia coming from abroad voiced by the president only partially refers to the NGOs whose activities are controlled by the Justice Ministry. “Of course, not all NGOs that are reported by banks to receive such funding according to the NGO legal status belong […]

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Russian police says NGOs made no complaints over ‘foreign agent’ checks

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(Interfax – Moscow, April 15, 2013) The Interior Ministry has received no complaints against police with regard to checks of non-commercial organizations, Deputy Minister Mikhail Vanichkin has said. “Since the start of the checks, there has not been a single complaint to date from heads of non-commercial organizations against the actions of the police,” Vanichkin told a special meeting of […]

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Second ‘Foreign Agent’ NGO Probed in Russia

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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, April 16, 2013) ­ Russian prosecutors have opened a case against a regional non-governmental organization accused of not registering as a “foreign agent” in the wake of a wave of inspections of NGOs, a rights group reported on Tuesday. Alexander Zamaryanov, director of the Kostroma Public Initiatives Support Center, is suspected of being involved in political […]

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The Kremlin’s press secretary has no doubts about foreign funding of Russian NGOs

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(Interfax – April 15, 2013) Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov has said that the information about the foreign funding of non-governmental organizations (NGO) in Russia recently disclosed by President Vladimir Putin is reliable. “There is not the slightest reason to doubt the reliability of the said figures,” Peskov said on a Sunday night current events show on Russia 1 channel. […]

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Interview: ‘Democratic Development Survives Bad Laws And Repression’

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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – April 12, 2013) The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private foundation based in Washington, D.C., that provides grants and other support to organizations around the world that promote democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. The NED’s senior director for Europe, Rodger Potocki, recently visited RFE/RL’s broadcast center in Prague and spoke with […]

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Amid Paranoia, Moscow Increasingly Cracks Down on Human Rights Groups

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 68 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Pavel Felgenhauer – April 11, 2013) Since last March, Russian and international human rights organizations­ – including such prominent ones as Memorial, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Transparency International and others­ – have been harassed by Russian law enforcement and tax authorities, had their premises searched all […]

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‘Foreign Agent’ Election Watchdog Told to Vacate Office

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(RIA Novosti, MOSCOW, April 12, 2013) ­ Russian election watchdog Golos (Vote, or Voice) has been given notice to vacate its office in Moscow with no explanation, the non-governmental organization’s deputy director Grigory Melkonyants told RIA Novosti on Friday. “Our rental contract is still valid, but the new lessor has informed us they are breaking the contract ahead of its […]

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Russian NGOs financed from abroad obstructing prosecutorial inspections – spokesperson

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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 10, 2013) A number of non-governmental organizations (NGO) performing the functions of a foreign agent are obstructing their inspections and refusing to comply with legitimate demands by supervisory and controlling bodies, the Prosecutor General’s Office said. “It should be emphasized that some organizations receiving financing from abroad, despite inspectors’ legitimate demands, are actively obstructing the ongoing […]

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Memorial challenges prosecutors’ inspection in court

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(Interfax – MOSCOW. April 8, 2013) The historical and enlightenment society Memorial and human rights center Memorial filed a lawsuit on Monday with the Moscow Zamoskvoretsky Court against the unscheduled inspection by prosecutors. “The Memorial center challenged the unscheduled inspection by the Moscow prosecutor’s office in court, in association with the Justice Ministry and tax experts, which began on March […]

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NGOs Slam Putin’s $1Bln Foreign-Funding Estimate

Vladimir Putin file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – April 9, 2013) NGO representatives on Monday questioned the validity of President Vladimir Putin’s comment to German television that NGOs in Russia had received about $1 billion from abroad since the “foreign agent” law was adopted in 2012. In the interview broadcast Friday, Putin said there were 654 active NGOs in Russia […]

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NGO Inspections Aim to Control Foreign Funding – Putin

Vladimir Putin file photo

(RIA Novosti, HANOVER, April 8, 2013) The recent wave of inspections of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Russia is not aimed at restricting their activity but rather at controlling their foreign funding, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “All our actions are not designed to shut down or ban [the operation of NGOs in […]

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NGOs will not register as foreign agents – Moscow Helsinki Group chairman

Lyudmila Alekseyeva file photo

(Interfax, MOSCOW. April 4, 2013) None of the leading NGOs will register as a foreign agent following prosecutors’ inspections, Lyudmila Alekseyeva, the head of the Russia’s oldest human rights organization, the Moscow Helsinki Group, told Interfax on Thursday. “I know for sure than no one will register. No matter how much they try,” Alekseyeva said. Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Buksman […]

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NGOs Facing Stiff Fines Amid ‘Crackdown’

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Winning – April 5, 2013) Nongovernmental organizations across the country are being threatened with fines stretching to $20,000 or more, as authorities press on with sweeping checks that activists are calling a government-orchestrated crackdown on civil society. Prosecutors have said the checks are aimed at uncovering extremist activity and are routine, but NGOs fear […]

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Golos Under Scrutiny by Prosecutors

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 4, 2013) The Prosecutor General’s Office has requested documents from elections watchdog Golos and the organization’s newspaper, Grazhdansky Golos, as part of its check into nongovernmental organizations. Golos’ deputy director, Gregory Melkonyants, was presented with a written request for all legal documents, including information on staff, a schedule of activities with a list of […]

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Ombudsman Lukin asks NGOs to assess their inspections by law enforcement

Vladimir Lukin file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 2, 2013) Russian Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin has called on non-governmental organizations (NGO) to assess their ongoing inspections by law enforcement and tax agencies. “We have asked human rights organizations that have been subjected to inspections to send us documents and tell us how the inspections were conducted, how the law was abided by, and […]

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Human Rights Council wants to discuss NGO checks with Russian Prosecutor General

Mikhail Fedotov file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW. March 28, 2013) Russia’s Presidential Human Rights Council is expecting Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika to explain the purposes of numerous inspections of non-governmental organizations (NGO) at the upcoming session of the council in April. “We have asked the Prosecutor General to participate in the council meeting so that representatives of the Prosecutor’s General Office can report […]

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Human Rights Council members doubt checks of non-profit entities relate to fight against extremism

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MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) – Prosecutors inspecting non-profit organizations are performing unusual duties, which are virtually repressive, a member of Russia’s Presidential Human Rights Council and board member of Memorial international society, Sergei Krivenko, said. “We tried to draw an analogy with the current unprecedented inspections in Memorial – nothing like that has happened in the past 25 years. The […]

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Experts point to flaws in mechanisms of state support for NGOs in Russia

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MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax) – The existing system of support for nongovernmental organizations in Russia lacks transparency in many respects which obstructs the strengthening of the role of civil society in Russian life. The conclusion can be drawn from the report “Third sector in Russia: the current state and possible development models” compiled by the Fund for Civil Society. “The […]

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NGO Checks ‘Unprecedented’ in Post-Soviet Russia

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle and Yekaterina Kravtsova – March 29, 2013) The Moscow Helsinki Group, Russia’s oldest human rights organization, on Thursday became the latest NGO inspected in a massive government campaign that has hit hundreds of non-state groups in 25 regions and is unprecedented in post-Soviet Russia, a rights leader said. Prosecutors and Justice Ministry officials […]

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Despite inspections, international NGO Memorial won’t reduce foreign financing

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(Interfax – March 28, 2013) The international human rights society Memorial is not going to reduce financing from abroad, says Sergei Krivenko, a member of the Presidential Human Rights Council and a Memorial board member. “Memorial and all of its organizations will not reject foreign financing, which we are receiving officially and legally under various programs. On the contrary, we […]

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Prosecutor Says Extremism Law Is Behind NGO Checks

Map of Russia

MOSCOW, March 28 (RIA Novosti) ­ A recent series of spot checks on non-governmental organizations in Russia that caused outcry among rights advocates is aimed at establishing their compliance with laws against extremism and the legalization of criminal income, the Prosecutor General’s Office said Thursday. Nationwide NGO inspections have been taking place since last month, and most observers had linked […]

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Unannounced Checks of NGOs Persist

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – March 28, 2013) Prosecutors on Wednesday continued performing unannounced inspections of nongovernmental organizations, checking the Moscow offices of three prominent groups and summoning two human rights leaders for questioning. Officials have inspected about 2,000 NGOs nationwide in the past month, Pavel Chikov, head of the Agora human rights group, said by telephone. […]

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Raids On NGOs In Russia Suggest ‘Increasingly Insecure’ Kremlin

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Sitting at Desk

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Claire Bigg – March 26, 2013) Amnesty International has joined a growing list of organizations raided by Russian officials in recent weeks amid what activists describe as a ruthless Kremlin crackdown on dissent. Prosecutors and tax police on March 25 searched the venerable rights watchdog’s Moscow headquarters, along with three other prominent advocacy groups — the […]

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Authorities search NGOs for ‘foreign agents’

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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Stanislav Kuvaldin, special to RBTH – March 27, 2013) Law enforcement organs are conducting mass checks of Russian NGOs. According to information from human rights activists, more than 40 organizations in 16 regions of Russia have already been inspected. The Justice Ministry and the Public Prosecutor’s Office have announced their intention to check […]

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More Inspections Hit Rights NGOs in Russia

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MOSCOW, March 27 (RIA Novosti) ­ Russian state officials continued a wave of raids on prominent rights organizations on Wednesday that activists describe as a renewed pressure campaign against non-governmental organizations in the country. On Wednesday, officials from the Prosecutor General’s Office and tax control service targeted several more NGOs, including the Moscow offices of Human Rights Watch, Transparency International […]

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Prosecutors start audit of Memorial anti-discrimination center in St. Petersburg

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ST. PETERSBURG. March 26 (Interfax) – Prosecutors are conducting an audit on Tuesday in the Memorial anti-discrimination center in St. Petesrburg. “The audit is continuing. We are writing an explanatory letter. The procedures are being conducted in a calm and matter of fact manner. There is something connected with extremism behind the audit,” Memorial Director Olga Abramenko told Interfax. Meanwhile, […]

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Amnesty Intl’s Russian office chief says may be summoned to prosecutor’s office

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MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) – The head of Amnesty International’s Russian office Sergei Nikitin announced after police visited the office that he could be summoned to the prosecutor’s office soon. Prosecutors, Justice Ministry and tax officials started an audit on several nongovernmental organizations on Monday, among them Amnesty International, Public Verdict and the Movement for Human Rights. “They spent five […]

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Checks at Russian NGOs seek to identify ‘foreign agents’ – Justice Ministry

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(Interfax – Moscow, March 25, 2013) The Justice Ministry has explained that mass checks at NGOs are being carried out to uncover the organizations that fall under the definition of “foreign agents”. “If breaches of the laws of the Russian Federation are uncovered, including the provisions of the Federal Law “On the introduction of changes to legislative acts as regards […]

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