MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin defended yesterday controversial searches of Russian and foreign non-governmental organisations amid mounting concern from Europe.
Speaking ahead of trips to Germany and the Netherlands tomorrow and on Monday, Putin argued that Russian authorities need to keep tabs on foreign groups involved in politics in his country.
“In Russia, there operate 654 non-governmental organisations receiving — as it has now become clear — money from abroad. Six hundred and fifty-four organisations — this is an entire network across Russia, including all of its regions,” Putin told Germany’s ARD television in an interview.
“Can you imagine how much money has come into the accounts of these organisations just over the four months after we adopted the relevant law?” Putin said in remarks released by the Kremlin.
“You cannot imagine that and I did not know it either: 28.3bn roubles — this is nearly a billion dollars,” he said. “Should not our society know who receives this money and for what purpose?”
By contrast, only two groups financed by the Russian state work in the West: one in the United States, and the other one in Europe, Putin said.
Upon Putin’s return to the Kremlin for a controversial third term last May, the Russian parliament fast-tracked a law requiring NGOs receiving foreign funding to register with authorities as “foreign agents”. Russian prosecutors and tax inspectors have in recent weeks staged a wave of searches of dozens NGOs including German groups.
AFP
