The independent election watchdog Golos announced Tuesday that it would shut down, two months after a judge in Moscow sentenced one of its leading members to five years in prison for alleged ties to an “undesirable” organization.
Founded in 2000, Golos had long drawn the Kremlin’s ire for documenting widespread election violations, including during the disputed 2011 parliamentary elections, the 2012 presidential race that returned Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin and the 2020 constitutional referendum extending his rule to 2036.
In a statement, Golos said the five-year prison sentence against its co-chair Grigory Melkonyants left it unable to continue its work. In May, a Moscow court found Melkonyants guilty of cooperating with a European election monitoring group blacklisted as an “undesirable” organization in Russia.
“The crackdown on the election monitoring community and the Golos movement is yet another blow to the constitutional foundations of the country,” the organization said. “No evidence of any illegal activity by Golos was presented in court, let alone any harm caused to the interests of the Russian Federation or its citizens.”
The “undesirable” label effectively bans an organization from operating inside Russia and exposes its employees and affiliates to potential criminal prosecution.
While Golos itself was only labeled a “foreign agent” in 2011, the group said the prosecution of Melkonyants opened a legal gray zone that could expose anyone affiliated with it, even those who simply sought legal advice, to criminal charges.
It warned supporters in Russia to delete past links to its content and avoid sharing its materials online.
Golos said it shuttered all of its regional branches, stopped accepting donations and suspended all projects. The group’s initiatives had included training election observers, maintaining a violations hotline and publishing an interactive map of reported election fraud.
The closure announcement comes ahead of regional elections across Russia, scheduled to be held in mid-September.
Russian authorities have used the “undesirable” designation to target opposition groups, foreign organizations and media outlets, including The Moscow Times, since introducing the label in 2015.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
