Bill on NGOs Questioned

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: July 11, 2012 (Issue # 1717)

Questions are mounting about the definition of “political activities” in a bill that aims to tighten the screws on foreign-funded NGOs after it passed its first reading in the State Duma.

The bill, which 323 of the Duma’s 450 deputies approved on Friday, would require all NGOs that receive funding from abroad and engage in “political activities” to register as “foreign agents,” a term used for Cold War spies.

“If we oppose an environment ministry initiative … or nuclear policy, is that a political activity?” said Alexander Nikitin, chairman of the Bellona environmental advocacy group.

“Of course, we are not vying for power,” Nikitin said by phone Friday. He added that foreign sponsors might discontinue their support if his group were to consider itself “political.”

Opponents maintain that vague wording in the bill would be exploited to crack down on organizations that speak out against the authorities.

If the bill becomes law, applicable NGOs would also need to display the label “foreign agent” on their website and publications, as well as publish a biannual report of their activities and an annual financial audit.

Supporters argue that “foreign agent” is not a disparaging term. In fact, it has been used by the United States to describe entities that represent the interests of foreign powers in a law dating back to 1938.

The drafters of the State Duma bill liken it to the U.S. Foreign Agent Registration Act, which obliges individuals and organizations — both non-govermental and commercial — that represent a foreign power to disclose their activities.

However, “the comparison is misleading,” said Dmitry Shabelnikov, local director of the Global Network for Public Interest Law, or PILnet.

“The U.S. legislation regulates a very narrow group of entities acting at the order, request or under the direction of a foreign state or entity,” Shabelnikov said by phone.

Unlike the U.S. law, the Russian bill classifies NGOs as “foreign agents” for an indefinite period of time once they receive funding from any foreign source, regardless of what the foreign money is spent on.