Amnesty International report reads critical of Russia

The Russian State Duma has passed a bill that requires all non-governmental organizations engaged in politics that receive funding from abroad to register with the Justice Ministry as “foreign agents.” The bill passed the State Duma easily; 374 deputies supported the bill, three opposed and one abstained. According to the bill, a non-governmental organization is categorized as foreign agent if it receives financial funding from other countries or their public agencies, international and foreign organizations, non-citizens or their representatives. All NGOs will have to submit financial records and semi-annual reports on their activities to Russia’s authorities. In addition, the bill permits NGOs to be inspected based on individual complaints or publications about extremism in their activities.