Russian prosecutors have labeled “undesirable” the activities of the U.S.-Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law (USRF), a move that paves the way to its prohibition in the country.
A press release on the website of the Prosecutor General's Office on Friday said the foundation, a U.S. non-governmental organization that has worked to advise private businesses and promote investment in Russia since 2009, had funded Russian NGOs acting as ?€?foreign agents?€? to influence Russian politics.
?€?The activities of this organization present a threat to the constitution of the Russian Federation and its national security,?€? the statement said, adding that the foundation's head, an American citizen, would be barred from the country until 2025.
It requested the Justice Ministry to add the foundation to a list of banned ?€?undesirable organizations?€? under a law passed earlier this year.
The move comes a day after two NGOs funded by Hungarian-American financier George Soros, the Open Society Foundation and the Open Society Institute’s Assistance Foundation, were declared ?€?undesirable.?€?
A number of NGOs have been shuttered by a tightening of regulation since Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in 2012. The Russian government says the crackdown is necessary to protect the country from foreign manipulation.