Russia Finalizing Law to Ban 'Undesirable' Foreign Organizations

Rights organizations say the move is aimed at clamping down on dissent.

ByABC News
May 20, 2015, 3:43 PM
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations and the Council for the Russian Language at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on May 19, 2015.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations and the Council for the Russian Language at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on May 19, 2015.
Alexander Nemenov/Pool/AP Photo

— -- Russia’s government has introduced a new law empowering it to ban foreign organizations as “undesirable.”

Rights organizations say the move is aimed at clamping down on dissent to Vladimir Putin's rule, and will push Russia further from the West.

Authorities will be able to label any organization “undesirable” whose activities it deems damaging to Russia’s “constitutional order, defense capabilities or state security." The law was quickly approved by Russia’s Federation Council on Wednesday, after being voted through Russia's parliament with only three votes against it. President Putin is expected to sign it into law in the near future.

The law fits into a broader narrative projected by Putin that Russia is under threat from Western non-governmental organizations, who he frequently implies are instruments of American intelligence, an idea echoed by the representative who sponsored the law.

“The purpose of the law is to highlight that there are foreign organizations that are unfriendly to Russia,” Alexander Tarnavsky told the Russian news agency TASS. “They do this for different reasons -- some at the request of intelligence services, some for other considerations.”

Although the law is ostensibly targeted at foreign organizations, in reality it appears intended more as another instrument for constraining domestic rights groups and opposition activists, potentially exposing them to legal trouble.

“It’s not about us,” said Tanya Lokshina, program director for Human Rights Watch's Russia unit. “The government doesn’t need another repressive law to shut us down. The law is meant to stop Russian nationals maintaining contact with their foreign partners.”

Some provisions in the law stipulate criminal penalties for Russian citizens continuing involvement with foreign organizations declared “undesirable,” including fines. Those fined twice can face prison sentences. The law is vaguely worded so that it is not clear what precisely would constitute "involvement," meaning that theoretically even attending a seminar or conducting an interview with an “undesirable” organization could be punishable.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have condemned the law. Lokshina said it was meant to stifle non-official activism, "shoving it into limbo where activists will simply suffocate.”

PHOTO: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev presents a report at the lower house of Russia's parliament, the State Duma, in Moscow, Russia on April 21, 2015.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev presents a report at the lower house of Russia's parliament, the State Duma, in Moscow, Russia on April 21, 2015.

The law is the latest in a series of measures that have seemed intended to push groups critical of official abuses and opponents of the Kremlin into an ever more precarious space. In 2012, the government introduced the so-called "foreign agents" law that forced Russian NGOs receiving foreign funding to register under that title, which for many Russians is synonymous with spy. Although dozens of NGOs have since been prosecuted over it, many have still resisted registering.

That law “was meant to pull Russian NGOs away from foreign organizations,” said Alexander Cherkasov, who works for the Russian rights group Memorial. “It didn’t work. But this new law goes far further.”

In theory, the law applies to all foreign organizations, not just NGOs, meaning foreign companies could also fall under it. Cherkasov said McDonalds or ABC could be declared “undesirable” if the authorities so wished, in which case he could potentially be fined for buying a hamburger or doing an interview.

“It’s an Iron Curtain law,” said Cherkasov. “I don’t know exactly how it will affect us yet, but I expect nothing good.”