Charities Feel the Chill as Russia Looks to Tighten NGO Legislation

Sotsium was a largely unremarkable Russian nongovernmental organization (NGO) working to stop the spread of HIV in the small Volga River city of Engels, where Russia’s HIV epidemic is growing at one of the fastest rates nationwide. Besides educational drives, the charity distributed syringes and clean needles to people at risk.

But last month, a local court said Sotsium received funding from abroad, was involved in political activity and must be classified as a “foreign agent”—a loaded Soviet-era term—under legislation President Vladimir Putin signed into law in 2012. The ruling means Sotsium is likely to shut down.