Social organizations as "foreign agents" in Russia
As a "foreign agent" (Russian Иностранный агент, Иноагент), since 2012 social organizations and since 2020 private individuals who are politically active and are supposed to receive financial resources from abroad can be registered in Russia .
This list of Russian organizations and private individuals from non-governmental civil society should not be confused with the undesirable international organizations actually managed outside of Russia , which have been banned in Russia since 2015.
law
The Federal Law 121-FZ of July 13, 2012 offers the possibility that organizations can be classified as foreign agents, which organize "political action or finance, which are aimed at the adoption of decisions of state bodies or the alteration of the of to influence these implemented state policies or to influence the formation of public opinion ”.
Political parties, which are not allowed to accept any money from abroad, as well as religious organizations and public institutions are not affected. The law stipulates that organizations that are active in science, culture, art, medicine, health care, social activity, child and maternity protection, sport, animal welfare, plant protection, charity or the organization of volunteer work are not affected.
The registration can be deleted again after a review process with inspection of the financial documents.
By order No. 10-P of April 8, 2014, the Russian Constitutional Court declared the July 2012 law to be constitutional.
story
The law was proposed by MPs from the majority United Russia party in July 2012 and signed by President Putin on July 20, 2012 . It came into force on November 21, 2012.
No registrations were initially made until President Putin called on February 14, 2013 to take action against organizations that are politically active against Russia. As a result, the offices of over 300 human rights and environmental organizations such as Memorial , Amnesty International Russia and Human Rights Watch Russia were searched and asked to register as foreign agents. Almost all organizations refused to do so.
On June 4, 2014, the law was tightened, in which registration can now take place without the consent of the organization and without a judicial decision by the Russian Ministry of Justice. It was not until February 2015 that the option of being removed from the register was created.
Since then, 148 organizations have been registered by the end of 2016. The organizations were also asked to register voluntarily. If they refused, they were fined from 200,000 to 900,000 rubles.
After some organizations pointed out that they had not received any funds from abroad, the Ministry of Justice replied that individual donors to these organizations had received foreign funds in return.
Numerous organizations have declared their dissolution, some have reestablished themselves under a different name. Some organizations managed to get the registration unregistered.
After the branch of the Russian state broadcaster RT was forced to register as a foreign agent in the USA, the Duma decided in November 2017 to amend the law that also allows media operating in Russia to be classified as foreign agents. On December 5, 2017, the Justice Department published a list of nine American media outlets that were affected. These are Voice of America , Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and seven other media affiliated with them.
From December 2020, the extension to private individuals came into force. The first entries on December 28, 2020 concerned Lev Ponomarev , three journalists and an artist. The registration of persons of civil society life, instead of organizations, skyrocketed from the second day of private person registration, July 15, 2021. By November 19, 2021, 58 other private individuals had already been registered as alleged "foreign agents".
On November 25, 2021, the trial began in Moscow to ban the most prominent organization (registered on the list since 2016), the human rights organization and organization to come to terms with Stalinist crimes, Memorial , which was founded in 1988 and whose charges the co-founder Irina Scherbakova as "absurd, ridiculous and purely politically motivated ”. Some observers see the process as a sign that the registration as "foreign agent" is only a preliminary stage to the complete elimination of non-governmental, critical segments of civil society.
importance
For the organizations concerned, registration is a significant restriction on their activities. If you forego all foreign funding in order to be able to unregister, most projects will no longer be feasible. The domestic Russian support is usually insufficient for this. If they continue their activity despite being registered, they are stigmatized by Russian authorities and a significant part of the population and receive little support.
In the case of media financed by advertising, the declaration as a so-called "foreign agent" means that advertising revenue is lost, since practically no Russian company advertises with organizations of "foreign agents", as this is reputational in Russia.
In Russia, journalists from foreign agents who are reporters at demonstrations can obtain criminal proceedings in Russia.
Some organizations were able to abandon the status or disbanded.
Registered Organizations
As of November 2021, 95 legal entities (individuals and organizations) are registered as foreign agents with the Ministry of Justice.
2021
In 2021, up to and including December 2021, at least 21 media outlets were classified as foreign agents. Including:
organization | Russian | location | activities | Registered since | Web links |
Meduza | Медуза | Latvia | Russian-language internet newspaper | April 30, 2021 | |
Bellingcat | investigative research network | ||||
Doschd | Russian television broadcaster | ||||
Nadeschda Andrejewna Tolokonnikowa | political activist and performance artist. | December 2021 | |||
Marat Alexandrovich Gelman | Gallery owner | December 2021 | |||
Viktor Anatoljewitsch Schenderowitsch | Satirist, journalist and screenwriter | December 2021 |
2019
The organization "For Human Rights" was fined in April 2019 for receiving a grant from the UN Committee against Torture. The organization was added to the list in 2014, but was removed from the list in 2015. "For Human Rights" was dissolved by the authorities in 2020; Ponomarev pointed out that one reason was that he had received money from the UN, an organization of which Russia is a member.
2018
A diabetic association reported by a district public prosecutor's office in the Saratov region in 2017 after a denunciation by a student was warned and registered. Doubting the quality of domestic insulin is a "political activity" and undermines the authority of the state.
2017
In December 2017, the Association of Truck Drivers, OPR, was added to the list. In the course of their demonstrations in 2017, she had received a donation from a private person in Germany, which she, in retrospect, interpreted as a trap. Since 2015, truck drivers from rural areas have been protesting against the Platon heavy vehicle tax , which is handled by companies owned by people from Putin's circle of friends.
2016
All valid registrations from January 1st to October 4th, 2016
organization | Russian | location | activities | Registered since | Web links |
Memorial International | Мемориал | Moscow | Human rights organization | 4th October 2016 | |
Legal mission | Правовая миссия | Chelyabinsk | Legal advice | September 21, 2016 | |
School for conscripts | Школа призывника | Chelyabinsk | Legal advice | September 21, 2016 | |
Ecological watch in the North Caucasus | Экологическая вахта по Северному Кавказу | Maikop | Conservation organization | 13th September 2016 | |
Lewada center | Аналитический центр Юрия Левады | Moscow | Polling institute | 5th September 2016 | |
Publishing house Gagarinpark | Издвтельство "Парк Гагарина" | Samara | Internet newspaper | August 31, 2016 | |
American Alumni Club | Клуб выпускников американских программ | Samara | Graduate organization | August 26, 2016 | |
Panazeja | Панацея | Kuznetsk | Youth organization | 15th August 2016 | |
Institute for Economic Analysis | Институт экономического анализа | Moscow | July 22, 2016 | ||
Free word | Свободное слово | Pskov | Newspaper publisher | July 13, 2016 | |
Arktika | Арктика | Biysk (Altai Region) | Sports youth organization | July 6, 2016 | |
Rylkow Foundation | Фонд Андрея Рылькова | Moscow | Caring for drug addicts | June 29, 2016 | |
Eswero | Эсверо | Moscow | Umbrella organization of AIDS organizations | June 22, 2016 | |
Migration and Law | Миграция и право | Moscow | Support for migrant workers | June 16, 2016 | |
Society | Социум | Angel | AIDS organization | May 30, 2016 | |
Hanseatic Office of the State of Schleswig-Holstein | Ганзейское бюро земли Шлезвиг-Гольштейн | Kaliningrad | Information office | May 24, 2016 | |
School of Ecology of the Soul "Tengri" | Школа экологии Души «Тенгри» | Ongudai | Preservation of the traditional culture of the Altai peoples | 17th May 2016 | |
Publishing house Valentin Manuilow | Издательский дом «Валентин Мануйлов» | Pensa | Newspaper publisher | April 15, 2016 | |
Center for the Rights of Social Workers | Центр социально-трудовых прав | Moscow | March 21, 2016 | ||
Batani | Батани | Moscow | Association of Indigenous Peoples Foundation | March 11, 2016 | |
Center for Citizen Education and Human Rights | Центр гражданского образования и прав человека | Perm | Civil rights organization | March 3, 2016 | |
Sfera | Сфера | St. Petersburg | Voluntary service | March 1, 2016 | |
Women of Eurasia | Женщины Эвразии | Chelyabinsk | Social aid organization | February 15, 2016 | |
Human rights group in the Urals | Уральская правозащитная группа | Chelyabinsk | Civil rights organization | February 15, 2016 | |
Democratic Foundation in the Urals | Уральский демократический фонд | Chelyabinsk | Foundation of the human rights group in the Urals | February 15, 2016 | |
Sibalt | Сибальт | Omsk | AIDS organization | February 15, 2016 | |
Ryazan Memorial | Мемориал | Ryazan | Human rights organization | February 1, 2016 | |
Institute for Forecasts and Regulations of Political Conflicts | Институт прогнозирования и урегулирования политических конфликтов | Nizhny Novgorod | Conflict Research Institute | 22nd January 2016 | |
Committee for the Prevention of Torture (Russia) | Комитет по предотвращению пыток | Nizhny Novgorod | Organization for Victims of Torture | January 14, 2014 | |
Social Research Office | Бюро общественных расследовании | Nizhny Novgorod | January 14, 2016 |
2014-2015
(Selection)
organization | Russian | location | activities | Registered since | Web links |
Transparency International Russia | Трансперенси Интернешнл-Р | Moscow | Corruption analysis | April 7, 2015 | |
Golos Volga region | Голос | Samara | Election observation | February 6, 2015 | |
Sakharov Foundation | Фонд Андрея Сахарова | Moscow | Human rights organization | December 25, 2014 | |
Institute of the Regional Press | Институт региональной прессы | St. Petersburg | Press center | August 28, 2014 | |
Information agency memo.ru | Информационное агенство мемо.ру | Moscow | Website of the human rights organization Memorial | August 28, 2014 | |
Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information | Институт развитии свободы информации | St. Petersburg | August 28, 2014 | ||
Environmental defense! - Women's Council | Экозащита! - Женсовет | Kaliningrad | Environmental protection organization | July 21, 2014 | |
Legal Association | Правозащитная ассоциация | Kazan | Legal advice | July 21, 2014 | |
Memorial Legal Center | Правозащитный центр Мемориал | Moscow | Legal advice | July 21, 2014 | |
Social verdict | Общественный вердикт | Moscow | Civil rights organization | July 21, 2014 |
Former registrations
Organizations that have been able to abandon their status as "foreign agents" (selection)
- Soldiers' mothers Saint Petersburg (August 28, 2014, done October 23, 2015)
See also
- Unwanted Foreign Organizations in Russia (2015)
- Freedom of the press in Russia
- Foreign Agents Registration Act (USA)
Web links
- Analysis of the "Foreign Agent" Federal Agency for Civic Education / Research Center for Eastern Europe at the University of Bremen , German Society for Eastern European Studies , October 25, 2016
- Four years of the "Agents Act" in Russia Amnesty International , November 18, 2016
- Freedom of assembly in Russia 2015 Article 20
- List of Russian NGOs and private individuals who have been appointed "foreign agents" (Russian) (In contrast to the list that was put online until 2017 and then switched off, this only gives the date of registration, but none (in some cases, it was already vague) Reason more.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Law on Foreign Agents adopted Russia Update, July 13, 2012
- ^ Russian NGO under pressure Neue Zürcher Zeitung, November 24, 2012
- ↑ The Constitutional Court declares the so-called "Agents Act" to be the constitutional Institute for Law, Economics and Trade in the Baltic Sea Region, April 25, 2014
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ For the first time, the Ministry of Justice has included individuals in the media register as "foreign agents" - including Lev Ponomarev , Novaya Gazeta, December 28, 2020
- ↑ Register of foreign agents (as of November 25, 2021) without going through with them like actual agents .
- ^ ARD-Studio Moscow: Process start in Moscow. Memorial threatens to end. , November 25, 2021.
- ↑ a b Christian Esch (interview with Galina Timtschenko): "I call it a hostage-taking". Spiegel Online, May 1, 2021.
- ↑ Register of non-commercial organizations performing the role of foreign agent Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, as of October 7, 2016
- ↑ a b c d Annette Langer: Russia's fight against critical journalists: "The state wants to spread fear" . In: The mirror . November 29, 2021, ISSN 2195-1349 ( spiegel.de [accessed November 29, 2021]).
- ↑ Save Meduza Our continued existence now depends on you. In: meduza.io/en. Retrieved May 1, 2021 .
- ↑ a b c Moscow classifies pussy riot activists as "foreign agents". Accessed December 31, 2021 (Austrian German).
- ↑ The "For Human Rights" movement was fined 300 thousand rubles for refusing to recognize itself as an "agent". , Novaya Gazeta, April 25, 2019
- ^ "Foreign agent" three times , Novaya Gazeta, February 14, 2019
- ^ Lev Ponomarev: Russia should be ashamed to go down the path of totalitarianism again. Even if it's totalitarianism-light. , rightsinrussia.org, November 27, 2020
- ↑ a b "I considered it a civil duty to give a signal" , Novaya Gazeta, December 27, 2017
- ↑ In Saratov the organization of diabetics was recognized as a "foreign agent" and fined 300,000 rubles , Novaya Gazeta, May 28, 2018
- ↑ "We will consider this to be a mistake in our case law" , Novaya Gazeta, May 29, 2018
- ↑ INTERVIEWS "We were called" foreign agents ", which confirms our status as patriots" , Novaya Gazeta, December 5, 2017
- ↑ No Kopek for the Kremlin , NZZ, April 2017
- ↑ Dagestan: High Toll Fees for Truck Drivers - Small Businesses on Strike , Das Erste, April 30, 2017
- ↑ Russian truck drivers strike against truck toll , RBTH, November 13, 2015
- ^ Memorial Germany website
- ↑ Russia classifies the human rights group Memorial as an "agent". Deutsche Welle, October 5, 2016, accessed on October 9, 2016 .
- ↑ Website ( Memento of the original from October 19, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (currently not available)
- ↑ American Alumni Club website (English)
- ↑ A super-epidemic is brewing in Russia Süddeutsche Zeitung, September 30, 2016
- ↑ Интеграционный центр "Миграция и право" Directory of NGOs in Moscow (Russian)
- ^ Schleswig-Holstein information office in Kaliningrad IHK Schleswig-Holstein
- ↑ FC Kremlin. Republic. Retrieved June 17, 2018 .
- ↑ memo.ru (Russian)
- ↑ memo.ru/deutsch ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ “Ecodefense in Difficulty” , Deutschlandfunk , June 18, 2014.