NOVO-OGARYOVO, December 10. /TASS/. The gist of the problems with the foreign funding of organizations operating in Russia is their sponsors by and large pursue the aim of containing Russia, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with members of the Human Rights Council on Thursday.
In this way he replied to a statement by a member of the HRC’s presidium, Nataliya Yevdokimova, who suggested instructing the presidential staff to pool efforts with human rights activists to scrutinize the bills on foreign agents "to ensure they should work for society, and not against it." Yevdokimova criticized the current versions of the bills in question.
"I am certain that those people and those organizations who receive money from abroad for certain purposes, are, as a rule very decent and very honest and seek to achieve the solution of certain issues facing our country. They have failed to find other sources of funding and receive money from abroad, hoping that with reliance on these sources they will be able to cope with the tasks our society is confronted with," Putin said.
"Our people are honest and kind and they organize their work well, but those who pay them as a rule are guided by different purposes: not making Russia stronger, but containing it, and this is the gist of the problem," he added.
Putin said that in certain fields of activity Russian organizations had relations with honest and decent foreign partners who "unite to form professional cross-border communities." In particular, this is true of such spheres as the health service, nature conservation, and child and mother care.
"This is a very delicate realm of activity, which requires precise and clear legal technique and the understanding of what is stated on paper and how it is translated into life," Putin said. "I’d like to promise you that I will be doing my utmost to right the wrongs. On the one hand, domestic affairs and domestic policy must be protected from intervention, but on the other hand, the people must have a chance to work calmly without any fear of getting in trouble without a reason."
"Let us take a look at this once again. The chiefs of the presidential staff hear us, and so does the State Duma’s leadership. We will scrutinize all this once again, but there is no wish to prevent and prohibit indiscriminately. There is the wish to protect from interference," Putin said.
Bill on foreign agents
The State Duma on December 8 adopted in the first reading a bill on the activity of foreign agents. The list of foreign agents may be complemented by unregistered non-governmental organizations involved in political activity that receive foreign funding and also such individuals.
An individual, regardless of citizenship or absence of any citizenship, can be recognized as a foreign agent, if the person conducts political activity in Russia "in the interests of a foreign country, its official bodies of power, foreign agencies or an international or foreign organization, foreign citizens or stateless persons." Another reason for being assigned the foreign status agent is "systematic gathering of information about Russia’s military or military-technical activity which can be used by a foreign source against Russia’s security," except for information that constitutes a state secret. Leaking state secrets is an offense punishable under the Criminal Code.