On Friday, April 8 Dr. Olga Rosenblum (Departments of Philology and History, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow) will present “Functions of NGOs in Contemporary Russia: The Case of the Civic Assistance Committee,” 12-1, in the Research Room, 1st floor, Liu Institute for Global Issues. Click here for further information and to RSVP for a light lunch.
Dr. Rosenblum’s visit is co-sponsored by the UBC Eurasian States and Societies: Past and Present lecture series at Green College along with the Liu Institute for Global Issues and the CENES Department.
Abstract
Functions of NGOs in Contemporary Russia: The Case of the Civic Assistance Committee
With the Russian “foreign agent” law that went into effect on November 20, 2012, non-profit organizations that receive foreign donations and are perceived to shape public opinion are required to register as so-called “foreign agents”. Many non-profit organizations have refused to register. However, since May 2014, the Ministry of Justice has the right to identify foreign agents (at this time more than 100 organizations are in the list). The new draft legislation that is currently being discussed in the Russian parliament makes no distinction between non-partisan organizations which receive foreign funds in order to support humanitarian projects, and those with explicit political aims; soon all non-governmental organizations could be forced to curtail their work. The efforts of one NGO, the Civic Assistance Committee, which promotes the rights of migrant adults and children, will be discussed in this context.
