Russian NGO Called ‘Foreign Agent’ Forcing It to Close

Moscow has achieved its shameful goal of destroying what it considers troublesome and dangerous civic organizations while the global community of NGOs remains silent.

In a blogpost on January 29, I wrote that this newly enacted law threatens the activity of Russian civil society because it can arbitrarily designate a group as foreign agents thereby, for all intents and purposes. immediately abolishing it.

(Read https://thetorncurtain1991.blogspot.com/2021/01/death-of-independentcivil-society-in.html)

In democratic countries, non-governmental organizations, community organizations, civil society or not-for-profits are the backbones of society. Staffed or operated by volunteers, these dedicated men and women are the hallmark of democracies. While some officials from both sides of the aisle may discount them as nuisances, NGOs are needed to initiate and fulfill beneficial changes that help humanity and keep the powers that be from slipping into despotism. They occupy a special and respected role in the United Nations.

According to the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, “Moscow has finally achieved its end and brought about the dissolution of one of the country’s most renowned human rights NGOs: For Human Rights, which consistently speaks out in defense of the ever-mounting number of political prisoners in Russia and occupied Crimea.  Its founder, the veteran rights defender Lev Ponomaryov announced the move a day after a new law came into force, imposing further repressive measures against those the regime wants to stigmatize as ‘foreign agents.’  79-year-old Ponomaryov stresses that he is not giving up, but says that he cannot place those experts and others who have worked with For Human Rights in danger.

Halya Coynash of the Kharkiv group recently wrote that Ponomaryov believes that his and other major rights organizations were targeted in the new legislation, obviously indicating that Russia is tightening the screws of repression.

“Russian legislators have been systematically broadening the scope and repressive force of the Law on so-called ‘foreign agents’ since it was first adopted in 2012.  The amendments signed into force by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of 2020 significantly increase the number of potential ‘foreign agents’ and provide further means for controlling their activities and, potentially, closing them down,” Coynash observed.

She further wrote that Ponomaryov had explained on March 2 that while he hoped to remain open he had to take the difficult decision to formally dissolve the NGO For Human Rights because of the law’s strictures and for the sake of experts and specialists throughout Russia who will face prohibitive fines for being associated with the NGO. Ponomaryov pointed to the absurdity of the new requirements meaning that even an organization, like his own, that is no longer registered as an NGO, will still have to register as a foreign agent, with this having consequences for anybody linked to the organization. 

“I hope that this is temporary,” Coynash quoted Ponomaryov as saying. “I hope that the situation in our country will change and NGOs will not be enemies in our state. But now we are simply called enemies.  It should be borne in mind that we are merely doing very many useful things for society, for people – we help people, sometimes even save lives.”

This wide evil net that Moscow has cast with this law bodes ill for all NGOs in Russia. Indeed, they could be scared, threatened or pressured into closing their doors or otherwise becoming subservient to the state. Meanwhile, those that continue to exist would be branded and distrusted because their image will be questioned and regarded as very pro-Kremlin. For the privilege of keeping their doors open, they’ll toe Moscow’s line.

Furthermore, there are many non-Russian NGOs in Russia – Ukrainian and others – that can also be lawfully persecuted and repressed based on Russian laws.

This is an opportunity for civil society – non-governmental organizations – in the United Nations system of NGOs and beyond to openly discuss this transgression and condemn Moscow’s latest effort to stifle free speech, humanitarian activism and volunteerism, and come to the rescue of their Russian colleagues. Silence will not be a diplomatic strategy but one of surrendering to the Kremlin’s campaign of human rights violations and oppression.

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