Paul
Goble
Staunton, December 18 – Having harassed
and labelled as “foreign agents” those Russian human rights activist groups
still functioning, the Kremlin has now announced that it will no longer provide
them with any presidential grants, thus signaling that it no longer cares about
its imagine in this area and driving another nail into the coffins of these
groups.
Some human rights groups, like the
Moscow Helsinki Group, refused to take money from abroad lest they be labelled “foreign
agents.” Those that have continued to do so have been harassed and even close
down as legal persons such as the original For Human Rights. But both continued
to operate often with money from presidential grants.
The Kremlin up until now clearly
felt that have human rights groups was good for its image, but now that appears
to have changed. As Lev Ponomaryev puts it, “we exist as a decoration for the
state and the state doesn’t want to beautify itself in this way anymore” (svoboda.org/a/30330360.html).
Because private donations from those
living in Russia are hard to come by, many groups are being strangled to death
by the absence of funds. And activists,
convinced that is the case, are seeking money from the population, although
they do not appear confident that they will get enough soon enough to avoid
collapse (svoboda.org/a/30330314.html).
Lest
anyone think that the only victims of this latest Kremlin move are those who
work with these organizations, it is important to remember what Ponomaryev,
founder of the first and second For Human Rights group has said. “Very often,
human rights defenders are the last hope people have,” even though they cannot
always achieve everything they would like.
Consequently,
what some in the regime and among its supporters are likely to dismiss as just
saving money or being about the organizations alone, this latest attack is the
latest tightening of the screws as Vladimir Putin continues to move Russia step
by step toward a new totalitarianism.
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