Kremlin asks U.S. to Halt Civil Society Programs in Russia

[Trajan]

Something of a surprise, wonder if they had become more effective than Putin would like, just having them in place would provide at least some cover vis a vis criticism as to Russia's 'ongoing democracy'. They've been active there since 1992.



U.S. to Halt Civil Society Programs in Russia

MOSCOW—The U.S. is halting pro-democracy and civil society programming of the U.S. Agency for International Development in Russia after a request from the Kremlin, a U.S. official close to the situation said Tuesday.

The move comes as a blow to the avowed reset in relations between the U.S. and Russia, where President Vladimir Putin has steadily raised pressure on his critics.

"The United States recently received the Russian government's decision to end USAID activities in the Russian Federation," State Department Victoria Nuland confirmed Tuesday. "We are extremely proud of what USAID has accomplished in Russia over the past two decades, and we will work with our partners and staff to responsibly end or transition USAID's programs...We remain committed to supporting democracy, human rights, and the development of a more robust civil society in Russia and look forward to continuing our cooperation with Russian non-governmental organizations."

more at-
U.S. to Halt Civil Society Programs in Russia - WSJ.com

 

[mememe]

VERY GOOD NEWS!

Russia doesn't need US "democracy" or US "civil society"!
And especially, Russia doesn't need US State Department and CIA funding "revolution" in Russia.

 

[Trajan]

Uhm yes, ok, thx.

 

[mememe]

Uhm yes, ok, thx.

What?

From Wiki:

"Although technically an independent federal agency, USAID operates subject to the foreign policy guidance of the President, Secretary of State, and the National Security Council.

... USAID's stated goals include providing "economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States."

Getting US "democratic funds" and "organisations" out of Russia is the right move if Russian governing elites are serious about the defence of Russia.

 

[mememe]

Already two of NGOs who positioned themselves as "independent voice of Russian opposition": "Voice" (Golos) and "For Human Rights", announced they will not be able to function without US State Department funding they were getting through USAID.

1. It clearly demonstrates where "Russian opposition" gets its instructions from;
2. There is nothing "independent" about them.

 

[waltky]

USAID been messin' in Russian election?...

Russia accuses USAID of trying to sway elections
Wed, Sep 19, 2012 - Russia on Wednesday explained its decision to put an end to the U.S. Agency for International Development's two decades of work in Russia by saying the U.S. government agency was using its money to influence elections.

The U.S. State Department announced Tuesday that Russia has demanded USAID leave the country, a culmination of years of resentment over what Moscow sees as American interference aimed at undermining President Vladimir Putin's hold on power. "We are talking about attempts through the issuing of grants to affect the course of political processes, including elections on various levels, and institutions of civil society," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said. Nearly 60 percent of the aid agency's $50 million annual budget this year has been allocated for the promotion of democracy and civil society in Russia. Some of this money has gone to support Russia's only independent election monitoring group, Golos, which fielded thousands of observers in last winter's parliamentary and presidential elections, and compiled reports of widespread vote fraud in support of Putin's party.

Putin had accused Western governments of trying to influence the December parliamentary vote through their grant recipients, and a state-owned television channel directly denounced Golos, showing suitcases full of dollars that the group supposedly had received. After those elections set off an unprecedented wave of protests, Putin accused the demonstrators of being in the pay of Washington. "All of this is part of a series of moves aimed at toughening policy toward protests, the Internet, NGOs and freedom of speech," said Grigory Melkonyants, the deputy director of Golos. "The people who make these decisions intend to crack down on dissent and criticism in a way that is as harsh as possible. It is frightening even to think about what may happen tomorrow."

Since Putin returned to the presidency in May, the Kremlin has taken a tougher stance against the opposition and Russia's nascent civil society. Non-governmental organizations that receive foreign funding and engage in vaguely defined political activity must now register as "foreign agents," a requirement that is intended to destroy their credibility among Russians. But few sources of funding are available within Russia for organizations whose work, even if not directly political, can be seen as providing a check on the government. The Moscow office of Transparency International and two of Russia's oldest and most respected human rights organizations, Memorial and the Moscow Helsinki Group, are among those that have come to depend on foreign money. It is unclear how these groups will survive.

Arseny Roginsky, who heads Memorial, said his group will revert to Soviet times and rely on the work of volunteers. More than a third of USAID funding, however, has gone toward programs in health and the environment, which generally have been welcomed by the Russian government. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland expressed the hope Tuesday that the Russian government will now assume responsibility for all of USAID's initiatives. The Foreign Ministry has imposed an Oct. 1 deadline for the aid agency to end its activities in Russia, but U.S. officials have said they will wind down its programs in an orderly fashion. They also have made clear they are scrambling to find new ways of getting money to the Russian organizations that have received USAID funds, potentially setting up a further showdown with the Kremlin.

Source

 

[mememe]

Clinton asked Russian government to allow USAID to continue its activities in Russia until 2013.

And it's understandable: US invested over 30 million dollars into meddling in September's local elections and is now worried the investment will not pay off.

 

[mememe]

Despite Russia OFFICIALLY asked USAID to piss off, US said it will find the ways to continue "developing democracy" in Russia!

Brilliant!

 

[mememe]

Only last year and only through USAID US spent 135 million dollars on destabilisation of Russia ("spread of democracy"). How much US spent through other "funds" and "organisations"?

 

[Trajan]

Uhm yes, ok, thx.

What?

From Wiki:

"Although technically an independent federal agency, USAID operates subject to the foreign policy guidance of the President, Secretary of State, and the National Security Council.

... USAID's stated goals include providing "economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States."

Getting US "democratic funds" and "organisations" out of Russia is the right move if Russian governing elites are serious about the defence of Russia.

 

[hipeter924]

It is not just the US being shut out of Russia, aid agencies of all types are being shut out of Russia. Tzar Putin/Stalin II is pouncing on his critics again, only in Soviet Russia.

 

[mememe]

It is not just the US being shut out of Russia, aid agencies of all types are being shut out of Russia.

The foreign agencies that finance the fifth column within Russia and interfere with Russian home policies are going to find it difficult to continue their activities. Absolutely right move!

 

[mememe]

Tzar Putin/Stalin II is pouncing on his critics again, only in Soviet Russia.

Tell that to your psychiatrist. You managed to lump together and "tsar", and "soviet" -- that's called COGNITIVE DISSONANCE.

 

[hipeter924]

Tzar Putin/Stalin II is pouncing on his critics again, only in Soviet Russia.

Tell that to your psychiatrist. You managed to lump together and "tsar", and "soviet" -- that's called COGNITIVE DISSONANCE.

Nah, it's called reality. Retake human rights 101 or better yet ask the people of chechnya:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_2medFkNhI"]Chechnya The Dirty War 2005 - YouTube[/ame]

Or you can go back to your standard programming i.e. Russian propaganda:

 

[hipeter924]

It is not just the US being shut out of Russia, aid agencies of all types are being shut out of Russia.

The foreign agencies that finance the fifth column within Russia and interfere with Russian home policies are going to find it difficult to continue their activities. Absolutely right move!

The Communist Party of Russia and social democrats a filth column? You are definitely living on another planet.

 

[mememe]

Chechnya

You mean, US and UK funded terrorists aka "Libyan revolutionaries" and "Syrian revolutionaries" with links to Al-Q were beaten up by the federal forces of Russian Federation?

Waw! How dare those "Russkies" won the first round of "civilised" agression against Russia?

Oh, and welcome to 2012:

And now can we see up to date photos of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya...? Just to compare...

 

[mememe]

The Communist Party of Russia and social democrats a filth column?

You want a list of political parties and NGOs on US/UK payroll through USAID, NED, IRI, NDI?

There you go:

US government -- USAID, NED, IRI, NDI -- Russian non governmental organisations -- political activists: "Golos"(Voice) Lidia Shibanova

Alexey Navalny

fund "Vision of Tomorrow" and radical youth organisation "Defense"

fund "Sakharov" previously chaired by Elena Bonner

fund "Constructive Project"

"Russian National-Democratic Union"

all so called "Human rights" activists and lawyers

Helsinki Group

Memorial

Kasparov, Nemtsov, Gaganov, Chirikova

Alekseeva

Udaltsov

Novodvorskaya

"Pussy Riot" and Ukrainian "Femen"

Gelman and his "art projects" of public destruction of Russian icons and attacks on Russian churches

scores of separatist regional parties...

etc., etc., etc.

Just last year alone they got 135 million $$ from US!

If you would like to see more, let me know.

 

[mememe]

The Communist Party of Russia ... a filth column?

You are a moron!

Who do you think Gorbachov and Yeltsyn were? Members of the Communist Party. Who do you think most of current oligarchs are? Former members of the Communist Party.
Who do you think former Ukrainian president-US puppet Yuschenko is? Former member of the Communist Party, and KGB to boot. Who do you think Timoshenko is? Former LEADER of Communist Youth Organisation of one of Ukrainian regions.

 

[hipeter924]

Chechnya

You mean, US and UK funded terrorists aka "Libyan revolutionaries" and "Syrian revolutionaries" with links to Al-Q were beaten up by the federal forces of Russian Federation?

Waw! How dare those "Russkies" won the first round of "civilised" agression against Russia?

Oh, and welcome to 2012:

And now can we see up to date photos of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya...? Just to compare...

Defending Assad and Qaddafi, and I thought your posts couldn't get any worse.

 

[hipeter924]

The Communist Party of Russia ... a filth column?

You are a moron!

Who do you think Gorbachov and Yeltsyn were? Members of the Communist Party. Who do you think most of current oligarchs are? Former members of the Communist Party.
Who do you think former Ukrainian president-US puppet Yuschenko is? Former member of the Communist Party, and KGB to boot. Who do you think Timoshenko is? Former LEADER of Communist Youth Organisation of one of Ukrainian regions.

Gorbachev is a democratic socialist who speaks out against Putin's Russia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev#Criticism_of_Vladimir_Putin ), Yeltsin was corrupt like Putin. Yuschenko isn't the 'pawn' of anyone (from the US, Russia or EU), rather he is a pawn of the Ukrainian government:

Yushchenko testified against his former ally Yulia Tymoshenko during her trial over a 2009 natural gas treaty she brokered with Russia; a trial he called "a normal judicial process".[62][63] Yushchenko's view differed from that of the of the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who said in a statement the Tymoschenko verdict showed justice was being applied "selectively in politically motivated prosecutions".[63]