Russia's NGO Suppression
The suppression of NGO activity is not a novel concept. There are multiple ways that this can occur, from requiring the NGO's funds be kept in a government bank to making the act of registering NGO's extremely difficult. Russia in particular has control of NGO funds - as the president of the country, Putin, claims, "Not a single state that respects itself [allows overseas funding of NGO's], and we won’t allow it either". There are a few possible explanations for Russia's political opposition to NGO's. First off, Russia's government has authoritarian traits, often covertly carrying out brazen attacks on unfriendly politicians (Boris Nemstov, an unlucky opposition leader and critic of Putin, died after getting shot near the Red Square, one of the Federation's largest and busiest tourist attractions - while the killers haven't been caught, the investigation is personally being handled by the Russian government. It doesn't take a genius to add two and two together for this case, which has similarities to the killing of Russian ex-spy and government critic Alexander Litvinenko - this was also likely authorized by Putin) and suppressing progressive protests with harsh jail times. So, when another country's (usually from the West) organization tries to set up their base in Russia, Putin is definitely not going to make it easy for them. Not only will they have the potential to undermine the country's grip on its people, with organizations like Amnesty International promoting human rights in general, an aspect that Putin routinely ignores, but they also have the potential of spying on the country (in his mind. Although espionage these days can comprise of an extremely broad spectrum of events!). Certainly, after Ukraine's Orange Revolution, the power of NGO's has come to be more respected - but with that respect comes a similar amount of apprehension from powerful world leaders. After all, who wouldn't want to keep their stranglehold on their country's politics and population without the interference of annoying "human rights" organisations?
An unfortunate victim of Putin's repressive rule.
An unfortunate victim of Putin's repressive rule.
With countries like Russia and China, it is extremely difficult for NGOs to survive and reach the people that need them. Since they have shown how powerful their influence can be, NGOs are seen as a threat in these countries. The ICRC believes that civil society is extremely important and even in countries like Russia and China they must find a way to survive.
ReplyDeleteWith multiple red cross societies around the world, the ICRC has shown their credibility and respectability amongst world leaders everywhere. It is not surprising to find out that there is a Russian Red Cross Society. Since the organization is mainly humanitarian aid, Putin does not see it as much of a threat and also most of their funding comes from the country themselves. Establishing good relationships with a country is very important for any NGO. They must create a positive perception in order to be allowed to do the work that is needed.