Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a controversial Bill passed by Parliament that brands NGOs who receive funding from abroad as “foreign agents”, the Kremlin said yesterday.

The law, which has caused huge concern among activists who fear it will be used to stigmatise critical NGOs, was signed by Putin after it was rushed through the lower and upper houses of Parliament before their summer breaks.

Putin “signed the federal law on regulating the activities of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) who carry out the role of a foreign agent”, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The law, which sailed through the State Duma lower house on July 13 and then the upper house Federation Council on July 18, requires NGOs who receive foreign funding to register with the authorities as foreign agents.

The NGOs will have to allow official checks of their income, accounting and management structure as well as regularly make public their sources of income and their management.

The label ‘foreign agent’ does not directly implicate the NGO in espionage but does carry in Russian unequivocally negative connotations of unpatriotic behaviour.

“Materials published by the NGO in the media and on the internet should be accompanied by a note that these materials have been published or distributed by an NGO carrying out the role of a foreign agent,” the new legislation says.

The law applies to any foreign-funded NGO engaged in a political activity in Russia but exempts religious groups and organisations linked to the state or state companies. Activists warned that the law is a throwback to the public shaming of dissidents in the ex-USSR.

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