Charitable initiatives, like Sadaggat and Shariee Alhawadith, have been providing food and clothes as well as medical care for years. They offer much-needed assistance and an ‘alternative’ to the official social welfare system which does not exist.
The new law obliging Russian NGOs receiving foreign funds to register as 'foreign agents' or spies has created a furore in the NGO world. Moscow's illustrious Sakharov Centre has existed for over 20 years and must now register or cease operations altogether. Not a real choice, says Sergei Lukashev
Russia’s new NGO law forcing organisations to register as ‘foreign agents’ continues to take its toll. ‘Public Verdict’ Foundation, who help victims of police abuse, will not consent to this label. They may have to close down. Asmik Novikova and Natalya Taubina write movingly of their work.
‘NGO’ has become a dirty word in Russia. The organisations most committed to helping Russia develop a meaningful civil society have become pariahs, branded as ‘foreign agents.’ Under the tightened screws, we are asking the question: ‘Do NGOs in Russia have any future?’
Continuing oDRussia's debate on the future for Russian NGO funding, now a view from the coal face. Pavel Chikov is chair of one of the country's most respected NGOs: he argues that foundation grants remain the simplest way to let human rights activists get on with their work.
Russian NGOs have traditionally looked abroad for their funding, and are dismayed at recent legislation setting up new barriers to this practice. Almut Rochowanski argues, however, that this should be seen as a challenge to increase the involvement of the Russian public in the development of civil
In Putin’s Russia, NGOs funded from abroad are now officially considered ‘foreign agents’. However a recent poll suggests that the Russian public’s attitude to them is rather less one-sided. Vladimir Zvonovsky reports from Samara.
