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Russia

Last updated: May 23, 2025

Recent Developments

While we aim to maintain information that is as current as possible, we realize that situations can rapidly change. If you are aware of any additional information or inaccuracies on this page, please keep us informed; write to ICNL at ngomonitor@icnl.org.

Introduction

Article 30 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation (RF) guarantees that “Everyone shall have the right of association, including the right to establish trade unions for the protection of his (her) interests. The freedom of activity of public associations shall be guaranteed.” There are two more main laws in the RF that regulate activities of non-commercial organizations (NCOs): Federal Law No. 7-FZ of January 12, 1996, on Non-Commercial Organizations (amended more than 115 times since its adoption); and Federal Law No. 135-FZ of August 11, 1995, on Charitable Activities and Charitable Organizations.

From 1995 to 2006, the RF experienced generally positive development of non-profit legislation. However, in January 2006, legislation was introduced giving the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) authority to control the activities of NCOs. The same legislation imposed reporting on the financing and activities of NCOs to be submitted to the MoJ.

July 2012 marked the negative turning point in the development of non-commercial legislation. Under Federal Law No. 121-FZ, an NCO that is engaged in political activity and receives foreign funding is designated as “an NCO performing the functions of a foreign agent” (“FA”). This norm significantly complicates the activities of a large number of organizations in the RF. In 2017, the notion of FA-media outlets was introduced, and in 2019, a new law added the notion of an individual FA-media outlet. A law in 2020 introduced norms on recognizing individuals as FAs, as well as obligating unregistered public associations to notify the MoJ about the availability of foreign funding and recognizing such association as FA NCO-legal entities. In 2022, all the above norms were transformed into the concept of an “FA and persons under foreign influence” through the Law on Foreign Influence.

In 2015, the notion of an “undesirable organization” was introduced in Russian legislation, which affected foreign and international NCOs (FNCOs) and their partners in Russia. Activities of “undesirable organizations” in Russia are prohibited, and all persons participating in such activities are subject to administrative and criminal penalties. Since its adoption, the Law on Undesirable Organizations has been amended on a number of occasions, including on August 8, 2024, when the word “non-governmental” was excluded from the definition, significantly expanding the range of potentially “undesirable organizations”.

Russia is a now-suspended member of the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). As a member of FATF, Russia implemented a special law on combating money-laundering. NCOs are one of the main objects of application of this Law.

Civic Freedoms at a Glance

Organizational Forms(1) Corporate entities, which are those where founders (participants, members) have the right to participate in their management (that is, they gain the right of membership), including consumer cooperatives, public organizations, associations (unions), political parties, and trade unions.
(2) Unitary entities are those where founders may not become participants (they do not acquire the right of membership), including public charitable funds, private institutions, autonomous non-commercial organizations, and religious organizations.
Registration BodyMinistry of Justice
Approximate Number217,291 as of August 15, 2024 (Ministry of Justice)
Barriers to FormationCertain persons, including foreign persons and stateless persons, may not become founders, members, or participants.
Registration procedures are overly bureaucratic, with excessive documentation requirements.
Expanded justifications for unscheduled state audits.
Compulsory inclusion into the Unified Registry of Foreign Agents by the Ministry of Justice.
Barriers to OperationsBurdensome reporting requirements.
Supervisory power allowing for interference with internal affairs of public associations and NCOs.
Expanded justifications for unscheduled state audits.
Compulsory inclusion into the Unified Registry of Foreign Agents by the Ministry of Justice.
Activities of NCOs participating in political activities or implementing other activities constituting threat to the interests of Russia and receiving funds from U.S. and other foreign citizens or even stateless persons, as well as from foreign organizations shall be suspended.
Prohibition of all transactions involving finances or other assets to which an “undesirable organization” is party.
Prohibition on distributing information materials issued by an undesirable organization, and/or disseminated thereby, including through the media and/or with the use of the Internet and telecommunication network, as well as to produce or possess them for purposes of distribution.
Prohibition for an undesirable organization to implement programs (projects) in the territory of the Russian Federation, and for individuals and entities to engage in such activities on the territory of the Russian Federation and abroad.
Prohibition for accrediting international and foreign organizations as well as FAs as independent experts who can prepare a special anti-corruption expert review of draft laws and other legal acts.
The responsibility for compliance with FA restrictions lies both with an FA and any persons (individuals and legal entities) who, by their actions or inaction, may contribute to the violation of FA legislation.
Barriers to ResourcesForeign or international organizations wishing to make tax-exempt grants to Russian citizens or NCOs must be on a list of organizations approved by the Russian Government; access to this list is severely limited.
NCOs that carry out political activities and receive foreign funding are labeled as FAs.
Individuals and entities are prohibited from receiving assets from “undesirable” organizations.
Barriers to ExpressionPotential restrictions against NCO advocacy activity may arise through application of criminal or administrative penalties codes.
Advocacy activities often are considered to be equal to political activities, which may lead to NCO inclusion in the Registry of Foreign Agents.
After February 24, 2022, any comments contradicting the official information on the development of “special military operation” are considered an administrative or criminal offense.
Barriers to AssemblyExcessive force used against peaceful protesters.
Strict regulation of public mass events.
Administrative liability when minors are involved in unauthorized public events.
Administrative liability for organizers of a public event who failed to inform citizens and government bodies about a decision to cancel the public event as well as for filing a notification for holding a public event without indicating its purpose.

This section provides a brief overview of Russia’s legal framework for the promotion and protection of civic freedoms. Click a subheading for more, or click here to expand all subheadings.

This section provides an in-depth assessment of Russia’s legal environment for civic freedoms, including the barriers to the exercise of the freedoms of association (formation, operations, resources), expression, and peaceful assembly. Click a subheading for more, or click here to expand all subheadings.

ORGANIZATIONAL FORMS

On September 1, 2014, the amendments to the Civil Code entered into force, introducing a closed list of eleven organizational forms of NCOs (Item 3 Article 50 of Civil Code of the RF). The list of organizational forms includes: consumer cooperatives; public organizations; associations; organizations of realty owners; Cossack communities; communities of indigenous small population groups; foundations; institutions; autonomous non-commercial organizations; religious organizations; and public legal companies. Article 65.1 of the Civil Code divides legal entities into:

  1. corporate entities, which are those where founders, participants, and members have the right to participate in their management (that is, they gain the right of membership); and
  2. unitary entities, which are those where founders may not become participants (that is, they do not acquire the right of membership).
PUBLIC BENEFIT STATUS

NCOs may register as a charity pursuant to the Charities Law. Federal law, however, does not provide any benefits specific to registered charities. Although legislation at the regional and local levels offers tax benefits to charities, such legislation does not necessarily require the organization to be registered as a charity at the federal level. Tax benefits under Russian law are primarily tied to the support or performance of particular activities specified in the Tax Code. Registration of an NCO as a charity pursuant to the Charities Law provides the organization with a particular status and subjects the organization to heightened scrutiny, but this status does not in itself provide any unique tax benefits.

Amendments enacted to the NCO Law in April 2010 introduced the status of SONCOs (socially oriented NCOs). Under the new law, SONCOs are potentially eligible for governmental support. SONCOs engage in a broad range of activities, including traditional charitable work, the provision of free-of-charge legal aid, and the protection of human rights. As of August 15, 2024, the list of the types of “socially oriented” activities consisted of 19 types of activities, a list that is constantly expanding. See below a list of legal acts relating to SONCOs regulation.

Federal Law No. 287-FZ of July 3, 2016, on Amending Federal Law on NCOs in terms of Establishing the Status of NCO – Provider of Public Benefit Services (PPBS), provides for assigning the status of “NCOs–PPBS” to some SONCOs, including those which had the special code “provision of social services” given to them during registration (ОКВЭД). The Law also provides for a procedure for the assignment and removal of this status. It specifies the priority status of such organizations, in instances of state support of NCOs.

Federal Law No. 320-FZ of November 14, 2017 on Amendments to Article 31-4 of the Federal Law on NCOs refers to assessing the quality of public benefit services by regional authorities and aims at simplifying the process for obtaining conclusions from government bodies, which are necessary for inclusion in the Registry of NCOs-PPBS.

Decree No. 57 of the Government of the RF of January 24, 2018, on Amendments to Decree No. 89 of the Russian Government of January 26, 2017, on the Register of NCOs-PPBS, entered into force on February 3, 2018. An NCO-PPBS may now apply for inclusion in the NCO-PPBS Register to the territorial body of the MoJ. An already registered NCO-PPBS may apply for an extension of the list of provided services according to a simplified procedure. Also, the deadline for considering an application for recognition of an organization as an NCO-PPBS is shortened: earlier executive bodies could increase the time for consideration of up to 60 days; the time for making changes is not more than 30 days. The Decree includes a new type of public benefit services aimed at promoting interethnic cooperation, preserving and protecting the identity, culture, languages and traditions of the Russian peoples, and the social and cultural adaptation and integration of migrants.

Federal Law No. 60-FZ of March 18, 2020, on Amendments to Articles 2 and 31-4 of the Federal Law on NCOs established a new basis for including SONCOs in the Register of SONCO-PPBS: “proper implementation of projects that provide the implementation of activities in one or more priority areas in the sphere of providing public benefit services using grants from the President of the RF aimed at the development of civil society.” The evaluation of such projects’ results are carried out by the Presidential Grants Fund. Evaluated SONCOs will not need to obtain additional opinions on the quality of their provided services.

Decree No. 906 of the Government of the RF, “On the Register of SONCOs,” June 23, 2020, provides for the procedure for maintaining the Register of SONCOs that have received grants and subsidies, performed social services, and provided public benefit services since 2017. The Register is formed by the Ministry of Economic Development (MoED) and is publicly available on the Ministry’s website. The Decree defines the list of information to be included in the Register, and the terms and procedure for entering it.

Federal Law No. 189-FZ of July 13, 2020 on the State (Municipal) Social Order for the Provision of State (Municipal) Services in the Social Sphereprovides for an opportunity for legal entities, including SONCOs, to receive budget funds for the provision of social services through participation in the state procurement system. The social services provided for in the law cover only education, health care, social protection, employment, physical culture, sports, and tourism. SONCOs conducting activities in these spheres are able to receive budget funding. The Law entered into force on September 1, 2020 in selected regions and is valid until 2025.

Federal Law No. 119-FZ of April 14, 2023, on Amendments to Article 31-1 of the Federal Law on Non-Commercial Organizations provides for supplementing the SONCO support components with a new type of information support: to provide various authorities with the opportunity to provide SONCO services for the provision of computing power on servers (for example, using the government state unified cloud platform) to place large SONCO information resources on a secure telecommunications infrastructure; provide SONCOs, included in the register, with access to the website builder of the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia (“Gosweb” subsystem of the federal state information system “Unified Portal of State and Municipal Services (Functions))”. The law is aimed at the reduction of SONCOs’ expenses for technical and material support, and provision of security of the personal data of citizens working and interacting with SONCOs.

Federal Law No. 32-FZ of February 26, 2024, on Amendments to the Federal Law on Non-Commercial Organizations came into force on March 8, 2024. The law expanded the list of activities of SONCO by including into it activities in the field of family support, motherhood, paternity and childhood, organization and implementation of events that promote the development of forms of placing children without parental care in the family provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation; and keeping animals in animal shelters.

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 11, 2024, No. 777 “On Amendments to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 30, 2012, No. 1478” came into force on July 19, 2024. The decree adjusted the rules for providing property support to SONCOs in the form of providing them with non-residential premises for ownership or use on a long-term basis, which will contribute to the transparency of the relevant procedures.

Federal Law No. 181-FZ of July 13, 2024, on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federationcame into force on July 13, 2024, with the exception of certain provisions for which other entry into force dates are provided. The law, in particular, introduced a new 19th type of activity for SONCOs (Article 31.1 of the Federal Law on Non-Commercial Organizations) “inter-municipal cooperation.” Thus, NCOs operating in the area of inter-municipal cooperation will be able to apply for state support.

BARRIERS TO FORMATION

Russian law defines certain restrictions regarding potential founders of NCOs. Regarding non-citizens, only those foreign nationals and stateless persons who are “legally domiciled in the RF” may be founders, members, or participants in PAs or NCOs. Certain persons may not become founders, members, or participants, including:

  • Foreign nationals or stateless persons whose stay is deemed “undesirable”;
  • Persons appearing on a money laundering and anti-terrorist financing watch list maintained by the Russian government;
  • Organizations that have been suspended under the Law on Countering Extremist Activities;
  • Persons found by court decision to show signs of participating in extremist activity; and
  • Persons who are currently incarcerated as a result of conviction of a crime.

PAs, such as public organizations and public foundations, by definition can be created only by natural persons. These organizations cannot be founded by legal persons, but other public organizations may join as members (Articles 18 and 19, Law on PAs). By comparison, legal persons, including commercial entities, may found all other forms of NCOs. An NCO shall be subject to state registration in compliance with the NCO Law. PAs shall be subject to state registration in compliance with the Law on PAs. The burdensome registration process for all NCO types requires a long list of documents to be submitted to the authorized governmental body. The same is true for foreign NCOs seeking to establish a branch office in Russia.

BARRIERS TO OPERATIONS

NCOs, as a rule, have virtually no restrictions on the activities they may pursue as their primary objectives, including mutual benefit activities (Article 6(1), NCO Law, and Articles 5, 8, Law on PAs). All foundations are required to engage in public benefit activities (Article 118(1), Civil Code, Article 7(1), NCO Law, and Article 10, Law on PAs). The primary activities of institutions are broadly defined as any managerial, socio-cultural, or other activities of a not-for-profit nature (Article 120, Civil Code, Article 9, NCO Law, and Article 11, Law on PAs). Charities are required to promote at least one of the enumerated charitable activities indicated in the law (Article 2, Charities Law). Certain restrictions apply to activities of certain specialized organizations, such as political organizations and labor unions.

Articles 29 and 38 of the Law on PAs impose burdensome reporting requirements on PAs by requiring them to submit information about the funding and property they receive from foreign and international organizations and foreign persons to the registration authority. Article 32 of the NCO Law imposes reporting requirements for NCOs and requires NCOs to report on their use of funds and other assets received from both foreign and local sources. Repeated failure on the part of a PA or an NCO to timely provide the required information is grounds for the registration authority to bring a claim in court requesting a ruling that the organization terminate its activities as a legal entity, which then leads to its exclusion from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. More recently, new electronic reporting forms for NCOs, prepared by the MoJ, have substantially simplified the reporting process.

Articles 29 and 38 of the Law on PAs and Article 32 of the NCO Law authorize governmental registration authorities to scrutinize PAs and NCOs without appropriate procedural protections. The registration authority may use the following tools to inspect the internal operations of a PA or NCO:

  • The power to summon resolutions of the organization’s governing body. The registration authority is authorized to demand documents dealing with the details of an organization’s governance, including day-to-day policy decisions, supervision of the organization’s management, and oversight of its finances.
  • The power to send representatives to an organization’s events. The Law allows the government to send a representative to all of an organization’s events, without restriction, including internal strategy sessions and grant selection meetings, for example.
  • The power to review the extent to which an organization’s activities comply with its statutory goals, including review of its expenditures and property management. The registration authority has authority to review the compliance of organizations with their goals, even if the registration authority lacks the subject matter knowledge or expertise to make a judgment on whether the particular activities comply with an organization’s goals.
  • The power to conduct scheduled or unscheduled state audits. Amendments to the NCO Law adopted on February 21, 2014 expand the list of reasons for unscheduled audits of NCOs. An NCO now may be audited if it fails to eliminate a violation identified in a written notification within the required time, if the MoJ issues an order to conduct an audit, or if a government body files an application indicating that an NCO violated the law or engaged in terrorism or extremism.

The Federal Law on Changes to Article 32 of the NCO Law from June 4, 2014, went into effect on June 6, 2014. This Law added new powers to the governmental bodies:

  • If the state body authorized to conduct audits (e.g., the MoJ) receives information from another state body, a citizen, or an organization that suggests an NCO is engaging in activity that would qualify it as an FA but is not registered as such, the state body may conduct an unscheduled audit of that NCO.
  • If the MoJ determines that an NCO is functioning as an FA, but is not on the registry of FAs, the MoJ may unilaterally place the NCO on the registry. The MoJ interprets the law and makes decisions about who is an FA at its own discretion. NCOs may appeal the MoJ’s decision in court.

Article 23 of the NCO Law also provides the registration authority with two additional supervisory powers over the branches, representative offices, and affiliates of foreign NCOs:

  1. The government can issue a written decision banning the implementation of any existing program of a branch office of a foreign NCO.  The Law does not provide any guidance with respect to the grounds on which the government may make this decision, which appear to be entirely discretionary. Upon receipt of a decision, the office of the foreign NCO must terminate the activity, and if it fails to do so, it risks exclusion from the register and liquidation of the office.
  2. The Law also allows the registration authority to issue a written decision banning the transfer by a foreign NCO’s branch, representative office, or affiliate of funds or other resources to particular recipients for the purposes of protecting the basis of the Constitutional system, morality, health, rights, and lawful interests of other persons, and with the aim of defending the country and the state security. The Law does provide foreign NCOs the right to appeal against actions taken against them by the government.

According to Federal Law No. 117 of May 2, 2015, the MoJ may draw up reports on the administrative offenses of the activities of NCOs, including the structural units of international organizations and foreign non-profit organizations, PAs, political parties, and religious organizations. This Law expanded the MoJ’s authority to penalize managers of representative offices and branches of foreign NCOs for violating provisions of the NCO Law.

Changes to the NCO Law and to the Law on PAs in 2014, which relate to NCOs performing functions of “FAs,” further increased the administrative burden on NCOs by requiring NCOs designated as “FAs” to: 1) maintain separate accounting of funds and other property generated through local and foreign sources; 2) submit activity reports on a bi-annual basis; and 3) submit reports on expenditures of funds and other property on a quarterly basis (unlike other Russian NCOs which are required to submit activities and expenditures reports annually). NCOs that are FAs are also required to pass through an annual independent audit. Reporting forms are to be determined by the authorized government agency and could be burdensome if overly complex. In addition, the Law gives the government the power to interfere in the internal operations of an NCO and to suspend their activities. These powers include that:

  • The government is able to conduct scheduled and unscheduled annual audits of NCOs-FAs and has additional grounds to conduct additional audits of the activities of NCOs.
  • The authorized government agency (e.g., Rosfinmonitoring) reviews an NCO’s activities and expenditures reports and may require submission of additional information if an NCO receives a transfer above the 100,000-ruble threshold (approximately $1500). Under the NCO Law, foreign organizations operating in Russia through registered offices are subject to the following requirements:
    • they must undergo an annual independent audit by a Russian auditing company and submit the resulting audit report to an authorized government agency (e.g., the MoJ);
    • the authorized government agency will post all such reports, as well as reports on the finances and activities of foreign organizations operating in Russia, on its website and provide them to the media; and
    • in addition to the mandatory independent audit, the authorized government agency will also have the authority to conduct its own audits of the registered offices of foreign organizations.

According to the Federal Law No. 362-FZ of October 11, 2018, on Amending Article 5 of the Federal law on Anti-Corruption Expertise of Normative Legal Acts and Drafts of Normative Legal, there is a ban on conducting independent anti-corruption expert review of normative legal acts (NLAs) and drafts of NLAs by international and foreign organizations, as well as NCOs performing the functions of an FA.

According to the Federal Law No. 407-FZ of December 2, 2019, on Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the RF with the purpose of establishing a prohibition to act as a founder (member, participant) of a NCO to persons with respect to whom a decision is adopted to freeze (block) funds or another property in connection with sufficient grounds to suspect them of involvement into terrorist activities, individuals having their assets frozen because of terrorism allegations are banned from being founders, participants, or members of NCOs. These amendments, according to the Government, help to secure the nonprofit sector against its use for financing terrorist activities. However, the criteria for making a decision on the freezing (blocking) of funds or other property lacks specification on sufficient reasons to suspect an individual’s involvement in terrorist activities. Arbitrary application of the Law is therefore possible. The Law entered into force on December 13, 2019.

According to Federal Law No. 409-FZ, of July 31, 2023, on Amendments to the Federal Law on NCOs Russian citizens are prohibited from participating in the activities in the Russian territory of affiliate or representative offices of FNCOs that have not passed the registration procedures established by law by the MoJ. Amendments to the NCO Law are supplemented with a new ground for refusing to enter an affiliate or representative office of an FNCO in the relevant register: if the affiliate or representative office of an FNCO previously entered in the register was excluded from the register within three years preceding the date of submission of the notification due to violation of the Russian legislation. The Law prohibits any participation in activities in the Russian territory of affiliate or representative offices of FNCOs that are not duly registered. Two other laws that entered into force on August 4, 2023 (Federal Law No. 412-FZ of August 4, 2023, on Amendments to the CoAO of the RF, and Federal Law No. 413-FZ of August 4, 2023, on Amendments to the Criminal Code of the RF and Articles 31 and 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the RF establish administrative and criminal liability for organizing and participating in their activities. As of August 15, 2024, the List of FNCOs registered in the Russian Federation contains 61 organizations.

BARRIERS TO RESOURCES

Foreign funding

Since 2020, foreign funding has been practically inaccessible to the vast majority of Russian NCOs (apart from those already recognized as FAs), due to the fear of being included in the Registry of NCOs-FAs (or later in the Unified FA Registry maintained by the MoJ since December 1, 2022).

On April 21, 2025, the President signed amendments to the Federal Law on Control over Activities of Persons under Foreign Influence (“Law on Foreign Influence”). The amendments expand the list of activities that fall under the Law on Foreign Influence and can be considered grounds for designation as a “foreign agent.” These newly listed activities include:

  • assisting in the implementation of decisions of international organizations in which the RF does not take part, or of international state bodies, if they are directed against the security of the RF;
  • engaging citizens, including minors, in political activity, targeted collection of information in the field of military and military-technical activities of the RF, dissemination of messages and materials intended for an unlimited number of persons and/or participation in the creation of such messages and materials, as well as other types of activities defined in Article 4 of the Law on Foreign Influence; and
  • financing political and other activities defined in Article 4 of the Law on Foreign Influence.

The amendments reportedly target Russian exiles who are supporting cases against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights to investigate and report on the country’s attempts to bypass sanctions. The amendments entered into force on April 21, 2025.

Domestic funding

An NCO may engage in economic activities to the extent they advance the purposes for which the organization was created, but may not pursue the generation of profit as its primary purpose (Article 50(3), Civil Code; Articles 2 and 24(2), NCO Law; Article 37, Law on PAs; and Article 12, Charities Law). Profit from the economic activities of NCOs, including charities, is generally taxed in the same manner as for commercial organizations. Lower tax rates may be offered by regional or local authorities for qualifying NCOs. Registration as a charity does not affect or limit the right of an NCO to engage in economic activities (Article 12, Charities Law).

In July 2011, the Russian Parliament adopted amendments to the Russian Tax Code that improved the taxation of NCOs. For example, NCOs no longer have to pay profit tax or value added tax (VAT) on the value of in-kind contributions (services or property rights) they receive. Moreover, the amendments extend VAT exemptions previously applied to state budget funded institutions providing social services (i.e., in the areas of culture, art, health care, education, and services to the needy) to NCOs providing the same services. In 2014, the Federal Law on Amendments to Chapter 4 of Part One of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation delimited the concepts of “entrepreneurial” and “income-generating” activities, with the latter concept now only applying to NСOs.

In addition, Russian NCOs may apply to state funding, which is important in the context of severely limited access to foreign funding. The Presidential Grants Fund for the Development of Civil Society, established on March 7, 2017, and which began operations on April 3, 2017, holds annual grant competitions. Over the 7 years of its existence, the Presidential Grants Fund has helped 47 thousand projects throughout Russia to be implemented, and the total budget of these projects amounted to 138 billion rubles. It included funds allocated by the Presidential Grants Fund based on the results of federal competitions, provided by the Presidential Grants Fund to the regions for co-financing of their competitions, as well as funds raised by the NCOs themselves. Regional government authorities also announce grant competitions, mostly in the social sphere.

BARRIERS TO EXPRESSION

Neither the Civil Code nor the NCO Law limits the ability of NCOs to engage in advocacy or political activities. All forms of PAs may participate in advocacy and lobbying activities. Under the law, NCOs generally may also engage in election campaigns for federal and local elections, subject to federal election laws (Article 27, Law on PAs).

Amendments to the NCO Law, relating to NCOs performing functions of an FA, however, restrict the political activities of NCOs. According to these amendments, NCOs carrying political activities and receiving foreign funding, or, even intending to do so, are required to register in a special registry, maintained by the MoJ. Such registration, and, especially, labeling as an “FA”, may result in additional administrative burdens for NCOs, as well as in damaging reputation of NCOs (the translation of “foreign agent” in Russian is perceived by the general public to mean a “foreign spy”). The threat of being labeled an FA discourages many organizations to carry out political activities.

An NCO is considered to carry out political activity, if, regardless of its statutory goals and purposes, it participates (including through financing) in organizing and implementing political actions aimed at influencing the decision-making by state bodies intended for the change of state policy pursued by them, as well as in the shaping of public opinion for the aforementioned purposes. Such activities are considered political, regardless of whether an NCO is conducting them in the interest of foreign funding sources or without such purpose. An NCO carries out political activities for the purpose of the Law if such activity takes place in the Russian territory (Article 2, the NCO Law). An NCO is considered to be carrying out political activity if it even participates in such activities organized and financed by other organizations.

Charities are expressly prohibited from using their assets to support political parties, movements, and campaigns (Article 2(2), Charities Law). In addition, religious organizations, governmental and municipal institutions, international PAs, and international movements are prohibited from making donations to candidates (Article 58 (6), Federal Law No. 19-FZ, “On RF President elections,” January 10, 2003; and Article 66 (7), Federal Law No. 175-FZ, “On RF State Duma deputies’ elections,” July 20, 2002, as amended). However, these prohibitions do not appear to extend to involvement in lobbying or other politically-related activities.

During the last several years, a number of restrictive laws related to freedom of speech have been adopted. These include, in particular:

  • Four federal laws forming what is commonly known as the “Klishas Package” (including the so-called “Fake News” law and a law on “Insulting the Authorities”) were adopted on March 18, 2019. The Laws introduced, in particular, administrative responsibility for disseminating in the media or on information and telecommunication networks deliberately unreliable, socially important information under the guise of reliable messages that create the threat of harm to life and/or the health of citizens, property, the threat of mass public disorder and/or public safety, or the threat of interfering with the functioning or interruption of the operation of life-support objects, transport or social infrastructure, credit institutions, energy facilities, industry or communications, as well as for the dissemination of information leading to the onset of the above-mentioned consequences (new parts 9-11 of Article 13.15 of the CoAO).
  • Another Law of the “Klishas Package” established a procedure for restricting access to information, expressed in an indecent form, which offends human dignity and public morality, or expresses obvious disrespect for society, the state, official state symbols of the RF, its Constitution, or authorities exercising state power in the RF. If such information is found, the Prosecutor General or his deputies submit a request to the Roskomnadzor to take measures to remove this information and restrict access to information resources that disseminate the information if it is not deleted. The penalty is a fine in the amount of 30,000-100,000 rubles. The vagueness of the wordings creates the risk of arbitrary application of administrative norms in practice.
  • Federal Law No. 530-FZ of December 30, 2020, on Amendments to the Federal Law on Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection the so-called law on “censorship in social media”, entered into force on February 1, 2021. The Law introduces the concept of “the owner of a social network” on the Internet. It also provides for obligations for the owner of a social network, access to which during the day is more than 500 thousand users. The owner of the social network has to independently monitor a number of types of illegal content. This list includes, in particular, the following categories of materials:
    • information expressing clear disrespect for society, the state, its symbols, and authorities; and
    • information with calls for riots, participation in unauthorized public events, fake news, and information and links to materials of “undesirable” organizations.
  • Federal Law No. 538-FZ of December 20, 2020, on Amendments to Article 128-1 of the Criminal Code of the RF entered into force on January 10, 2021. The Law broadens the vague definition of “libel” crime performed under aggravative circumstances, by including into it dissemination of knowingly false information made in public, “with the use of informational-telecommunications networks, including the Internet”. The Law also substantially increases punishment for “libel,” adding to it a prison term of up to five years.
BARRIERS TO ASSEMBLY

The Constitution of the RF guarantees the freedom of assembly in Article 31: “Citizens of the Russian Federation shall have the right to assemble peacefully, without weapons, hold rallies, meetings and demonstrations, marches and pickets.”

Federal Law No. 54-FZ of June 19, 2004, on Meetings, Rallies, Demonstrations, Marches and Pickets (hereinafter The Law “On Meetings”), is the key law governing the freedom of assembly. In addition, several other laws address specific kinds of assemblies, including Federal Law No. 51-FZ of May 18, 2005, on Election of Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the RF; Federal Constitutional Law No. F-FKZ of June 28, 2004, on referendum of the RF; and Federal Law No. 19-FZ of January 10, 2003, on Elections of the President of the RF. The holding of religious rites and ceremonies is regulated by the Federal Law No. 125-FZ of September 26, 1997, on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations (last amended on November 2, 2023).

During the last years barriers to assembly were strengthened by the following laws amending the Law “On Meetings”: Federal Law No. 497-FZ of December 30, 2020, on Amendments to the Federal Law on Assemblies, Rallies, Demonstrations, Marches and Pickets (on the notification nature of holding any public event); Federal Law No. 541-FZ of December 30, 2020, on Amendments to the Federal Law on Assemblies, Rallies, Demonstrations, Marches and Pickets (on the prohibition of transferring and (or) receiving funds, as well as transferring and (or) receiving other property during public events from: foreign states or foreign organizations; international organizations or international public movements; foreign citizens or stateless persons (except for stateless persons permanently residing in the territory of the Russian Federation); NCOs, unregistered PAs or individuals performing the functions of a FA; anonymous donors; etc.); and Federal Law No. 498-FZ of December 5, 2022, on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation (the list of places where meetings, rallies, marches and demonstrations are prohibited has been expanded).

Limitations on Eligible Organizers

Russian law allows only Russian citizens to act as event organizers; foreigners and non-citizens do not have the right to organize assemblies. In addition, the law prohibits the following persons from serving as organizers: persons recognized as incapable or partially incapable by a court and persons in a place of confinement after being convicted by the court; persons who have not been expunged of committing a crime against the foundations of the constitutional system, national security, or public security and safety, or who have more than twice received administrative penalties; and political parties, other public or religious associations, their regional branches or other subdivisions.

Advance Notification

Organizers of a public event must file advance notification with the government. The notification must contain:

  • the organizers’ full names, addresses, and phone numbers;
  • those persons authorized by the organizers to perform regulatory functions while holding the public event;
  • the goal and form, date, start and finish times, and the route of movement (including information about vehicles) of the public event;
  • the projected number of participants at the event;
  • the methods planned for ensuring public peace;
  • the need for medical assistance; and
  • confirmation if loudspeakers will be used.

The organizers of the event must submit to an executive body of the Russian territorial subdivision, or to a local self-governance body, a written notification for the public no earlier than 15 days and no later than 10 days before the scheduled event date. The Law provides for two exceptions: (1) when holding a picket by a group of persons, the notification must be submitted no less than three days before the event; and (2) notification of a picket held by one participant is not required.

The executive body or the self-governance body is not obligated to reply to any notification; the authorized body is only obligated to confirm the date, time, and receipt of the notification. However, if the body requests that the organizer change the place or time of the event, then the body must communicate this information to the organizers within three days from the date of receiving the notification. The organizer must inform the executive body or the local self-governance body whether the organizer accepts the offer to change the place or time of the event no less than three days before the event date. A refusal of the offer to change the place or time of the event is illegal, however, thus rendering the opportunity for appeal useless.

Since October 22, 2018, according to Federal Law No. 367-FZ of October 11, 2018, the organizer of a public event is obligated to inform citizens and provide a written notification to the government about the cancellation of a public event no later than one day prior to its scheduled date. This requirement is difficult to fulfill, as there are many instances when organizers of public events are forced to cancel an event due to last minute disruptions not dependent on the organizers, such as the denial of a rental for a premise one hour before a meeting. From November 11, 2018, the CoAO is supplemented by Article 20.23, which provides for administrative liability for the organizer of a public event not fulfilling its obligations to inform citizens and government bodies about a decision to cancel the public event, as well as for filing a notification for holding a public event without indicating its purpose.

Time, Place, and Manner Restrictions

Public events can be held in any location suitable for the purposes of the event as long as the location does not pose a threat to buildings or structures or other threats to the safety of the participants. However, locations where holding a public event are forbidden include: territories adjacent to hazardous production facilities; elevated roads, long distance railway lines and oil, gas, and product pipelines; territories adjacent to residences of the President of the RF, courts, and correctional institutions; and borderlands, unless a special permit from the authorized border control body is obtained. Restrictions tend to be lightened when protestors challenge policy without questioning the authority or legitimacy of the government, such as truckers who protested taxes on their vehicles by blocking the highways in 2015-2016.

When several notifications are received for different public events and different organizers in the same location, the order of holding such events is determined based on the time of submission of said notifications. Therefore, it would seem that counter-demonstrations can be held in sequence, but not simultaneously in the same place.

Responsibilities of Organizers and Participants

Russian law holds organizers and participants responsible for actions that lead to the “creation of impediments to pedestrian traffic,” the “involvement of additional police personnel and equipment,” or that “exceed the norms of occupancy of a territory.” In case of failure to satisfy obligations provided by the law, the organizer of a public event also bears civil liability for harm caused by event participants.

Federal Law No. 557-FZ of December 27, 2018, on Amending Article 20.2 of the CoAO, which entered into force on January 8, 2019, established administrative liability for involving minors in unauthorized public events.

Enforcement

Law enforcement authorities have used excessive force to disband peaceful demonstrations. In July 2016, the government created a new law enforcement structure – the National Guard – with the authority to suppress any mass action per Federal Law No. 227-FZ of July 3, 2016.

Additional Resources

This section contains links to external reports and news reports relevant to civic freedoms. Click a subheading for more, or click here to expand all subheadings.

GLOBAL INDEX RANKINGS
Ranking BodyRankRanking Scale
(best – worst possible)
UN Human Development Index56 (2022)1 – 193
World Justice Project Rule of Law Index113 (2024)1 – 140
Foreign Policy: Fragile States Index48 (2024)179 – 1
Transparency International154 (2024)1 – 180
Freedom House: Freedom in the WorldStatus: Not Free
Political Rights: 4
Civil Liberties: 8 (2025)		Free/Partly Free/Not Free
40 – 1
60 – 1
REPORTS
UN Universal Periodic Review ReportsRussia
Reports of UN Special RapporteursReport of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor: Final warning: death threats and killings of human rights defenders (2021)
USIG (United States International Grantmaking) Country NotesRussia (current as of September 2023)
U.S. State DepartmentCountry Report on Human Rights Practices 2023: Russia
Human Rights WatchForeign Agent Laws in the Authoritarian Playbook (2024)
IMF Country Reports• Russian Federation: 2020 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report (2021)
• Russian Federation: Selected Issues Paper (2019)
Journal of National Security Law & PolicyFARA in Focus: What can Russia’s Foreign Agent Law tell us about America’s? (2024)
German Marshall FundDemocratic Russian Civil Society Outside Russia? A Window of Opportunity for Support (2024)
CEERS Working PapersManaging Society: “Sovereign democracy” and Civil Society in Putin’s Russia (2021)
International Center for Not-for-Profit Law Online LibraryRussia
NEWS

Russia outlaws international NGO Amnesty International as “undesirable” in latest crackdown on dissent (May 2025)
On May 19, 2025, Russia declared Amnesty International an “undesirable organization,” effectively banning the human rights NGO from operating in the country. The group condemned the move, vowing to redouble its work documenting and exposing human rights violations in Russia. Founded in 1961 and based in London, Amnesty International advocates for human rights worldwide and is known for its campaigns in defense of those it recognizes as prisoners of conscience. It has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights for its work.

Russia-linked phishing campaigns ensnare Russian and Belarusian civil society (August 2024)
Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline and the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto (“the Citizen Lab”), in collaboration with First Department, Arjuna Team, and RESIDENT.ngo, have uncovered at least two separate spear-phishing campaigns targeting Russian and Belarusian nonprofit organizations, Russian independent media, international NGOs active in Eastern Europe, and at least one former U.S. ambassador. The Citizen Lab attributes one of the two campaigns to a known Russian threat group called COLDRIVER, with the other likely to be the work of a different, previously unnamed actor. Spear phishing describes a highly personalized way of attacking victims, using carefully tailored information that aligns with a target’s personal and professional experiences and activities.

The UN wants to tackle Russia’s human rights crisis. Will it? (December 2022)
In October, the United Nations appointed a special rapporteur to monitor the human rights situation in Russia. This followed a year of advocacy work by Russian human rights organizations. Russians regularly face violations of their constitutional rights, and the war on Ukraine has only exacerbated the situation.

ARCHIVED NEWS

First criminal case opened against a foreign agent because of COVID-19 fake news (April 2020) (Russian)

Russian Lawmakers Expand Scope of ‘Undesirable’ Groups (October 2018)

Russia bans two foreign election-monitoring groups (March 2018)

Russia warns of additional penalties for US media (January 2018)

Duma passes first reading of bill designating individuals as foreign agent media (January 2018)

Russia gives early approval to new bill on foreign media (January 2018)

Independent Think Tank Faces Charges (September 2017)

Russia to Strike Eight Organizations Off ‘Foreign Agents’ Register (May 2017)

Russian government says foreign agent nonprofits are getting millions (May 2017)

Russian Lawmakers Target Anticorruption Group Transparency International (May 2017)

Violations and state restrictions on freedom of speech, freedom of publication, freedom of artistic creativity (May 2017)

Khodorkovsky’s Open Russia NGO put on “undesirable organizations” list (April 2017)

Russia Bans Jehovah’s Witnesses, Calling It an Extremist Group (April 2017)

Russia protests: Kremlin condemns ‘provocation’ (March 2017)

Russia Bans More International Organizations (August 2016)

Russia moves toward alarming new counter-terrorism law (June 2016)

Russia’s Bad Example (March 2016)

Targeting of NGOs Ensnares Journalist Associations (October 2015)

A Cloud over Russian Civil Society (March 2015)

“Memorial” and other groups forced to register under “foreign agents” Law (November 2014)

“Memorial” and four other groups forced to register under “foreign agents” Law (July 2014)

Russia Quietly Tightens Reins on Internet With a ‘Bloggers Law‘ (May 2014)

Law on ‘foreign NGOs an agents’ does not contradict Russian Constitution (April 2014)

First Ruling on Civil Suit Under ‘Foreign Agents’ Law (December 2013)

Russian General Prosecutor, Yury Chaika, Speaks on NGO inspections in St. Petersburg (July 2013)

Russian court fines NGO $13,000 under ‘foreign agent’ law (May 2013)

Kremlin Promises Information on $1B in NGO Funding (April 2013)

Leading Russian Human Rights NGOs launch challenge at European Court to ‘Foreign Agent’ Law (February 2013)

Freedom House Condemns New Restrictions on Freedom of Assembly in Moscow (January 2013)

Russia criticizes EU on human rights ahead of summit (December 2012)

Medvedev convinced civil society developing in Russia (December 2012)

USAID exit hurts Russian election watchdog (December 2012)

Internet restriction law comes into force (November 2012)

Russia’s ‘Foreign Agents’ law hit by paperwork pile-up (November 2012)

New EU Rights envoy promises to raise issues with Russia, Kazakhstan (November 2012)

Russia warns U.S. over human rights bill (November 2012)

Russia: leading NGO set to close due to funds shortfall (November 2012)

Merkel Questions Russia’s Human Rights Record (November 2012)

Transparency International refuses to comply with NCO law (November 2012)

Putin suggests some flexibility on anti-dissent laws (November 2012)

Another law in blatant violation of basic international human rights standards (October 2012)

Russia’s upper house approves law on fines for foreign agents (October 2012)

Russia’s NGO Law will inevitably result in a contraction of space and opportunity for NGOs (October 2012)

Rights group says its researcher in Moscow is threatened (October 2012)

Russia’s troublesome “traditional values” resolution (October 2012)

USAID shutdown in Russia will hurt civil society (September 2012)

Kremlin evicts USAID from Russia in blow to ‘reset’ (September 2012)

Russia demands USAID halt work (September 2012)

European Parliament concerned over worsening civil society climate in Russia (September 2012)

Russian regional administration forbids employees contact with ‘foreign agents’ as new NGO law gains traction (September 2012)

Human-rights organizations to boycott new law on NGOs (September 2012)

Russian rights groups taking ‘multi-step’ approach against NGO law (September 2012)

Beyond text, few parallels between new Russian and existing U.S. CSO laws (August 2012)

Clinton affirms Russian human rights activists are not U.S. agents (August 2012)

“A kind of Soviet flavor”: Putin taking lessons from Lukashenko? (August 2012)

Assembling to promote a positive attitude proscribed (August 2012)

Two years in prison for Pussy Riot (August 2012)

Russia needs Human Rights Ombudsmen in every region – Putin (August 2012)

Russia’s law on volunteering can be adopted in autumn (August 2012)

NGO law affects Russia’s civil society (August 2012)

Blogger and leader of protest movement Aleksei Navalny charged with embezzlement after labeling an official a “foreign agent” (August 2012)

New amendments on volunteering to be developed (July 2012)

Details of “Foreign Agents” Law (July 2012)

“Foreign Agents” Law modeled after US law, says Putin (July 2012)

Russians Support Recent Laws Restricting Freedoms – Poll (July 2012)

Russian rights activists refuse to comply with NGO law (July 2012)

Drive to give legal status to volunteers (July 2012)

The Internet law: A good bad example of Russia’s backsliding (July 2012)

Russian parliament approves restrictions on foreign-funded NGOs (July 2012)

Secretary of State Clinton discusses “disturbing” Russian NGO Law in CoD Governing Council remarks (July 2012)

EU High Representative “highly concerned” about amendments to Russia’s NGO law (July 2012)

PACE Rapporteur Slams Russian Slander Bill As ‘Invitation to Punish’ Kremlin Critics (July 2012)

Russia’s Ruling Party Seeks ‘Foreign Agent’ Media Bill (July 2012)

UN human rights experts warn of potential damage by Russia’s draft law to civil society (July 2012)

Parties Ask Russian Constitutional Court To Review Demonstrations Law (July 2012)

Looking for Foreign Agents in All the Wrong Places (July 2012)

NGO laws indicate Putin’s strategic failure, political frailty (July 2012)

Russia’s Internet blacklist looms in freedom crackdown (July 2012)

Transparency International calls on Russia to reject draconian amendments to laws governing NGOs (July 2012)

Putin signs draconian law restricting freedom of assembly (June 2012)

New Russian bill aims to brand NGOs as ‘foreign agents’ (June 2012)

Parliament to label externally-funded NGOs as foreign agents (June 2012)

Law on rallies awaits Putin’s signature (June 2012)

Putin signs law with new restrictions on peaceful assembly (June 2012)

Russian President Putin defends Russia’s human rights record after EU meeting (June 2012)

Russia’s civil society ‘beats authorities’ in tackling corruption (May 2012)

Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor meets civil society advocates from Russia (April 2012)

Freedom of speech concerns arise as protest singers face seven-year jail sentences (April 2012)

Nonviolent protests in Russia: About the elections or also for the future? (March 2012)

International NGOs urge authorities of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia to take measures to protect journalists (January 2012)

Why Russia’s democrats need West’s support (October 2011)

Government to increase support for NGOs – Medvedev (September 2011)

Arkhangelsk NGOs adapting to Russian reality (September 2011)

Russian court makes foreign donations to NGOs tax free (September 2011)

The Rebirth of Russian Civil Society (July 2011)

Medvedev urges development of endowment funds (June 2011)

European Court Rebukes Law on Parties (April 2011)

U.N. says Russian efforts on human rights fall short (February 2011)

The foregoing information was collected by the ICNL Civic Freedom Monitor partner organization in Russia.