The State Duma Commission will discuss the recognition of the undesirable NGO Freedom House – Kommersant

The State Duma commission to investigate the facts of interference of foreign states in internal affairs will study the work of the American non-governmental organization Freedom House. Deputies will consider the possibility of recognizing the activities of Freedom House as undesirable on Russian territory, said the head of the Duma commission Vasily Piskarev.

According to Vasily Piskarev, “the closer the presidential elections in Russia are, the stronger the campaign organized by the West to discredit them grows.” He noted that Freedom House recently published its annual Freedom in the World report. In this report, according to the deputy, the elections in Russia were declared rigged without evidence.

“Given the repeated use of human rights issues by the NGO Freedom House as an instrument of external pressure and interference in the internal affairs of our country, we will explore the possibility of recognizing the activities of this American organization as undesirable in Russia. We will keep this issue under control,” Vasily Piskarev’s statement is quoted in Telegram channel commissions.

The Freedom House report (.pdf) it is said that in Russia, “as in other Eurasian countries, election fraud was accompanied by a deterioration of all other freedoms.” The report’s authors believe that Vladimir Putin, “who has been in power for two and a half decades, will undoubtedly win” the March 2024 elections.

Anastasia Larina