What are NGOs and what is their role in Russia

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Throughout the civilized world, non-profit organizations, being structures removed from the harsh influence of the authorities, help to solve the social problems of citizens. What is an NPO is well known in our country. These are separate organizations whose activities do not imply making a profit, but are aimed at implementing tasks related to cultural, educational, charitable, social, and scientific goals.

The goal of the NPO is to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens, develop the sphere of physical culture and popularize a he althy lifestyle, and meet the non-material needs of people. In addition, the functioning of individual organizations contributes to control over the implementation of the legislative function of the Government.

In order to understand in general what NPOs are, one must realize the need for the existence of such structures. They play the role of an intermediary between the management and ordinary citizens with the common goal of achieving public goods.

NGOs in Russia are a special area of activity. They are mainly represented by foundations and associations, various unions and associations of citizens, budgetary institutions andnon-profit partnerships. Statistics show that up to 500,000 such organizations are currently operating on the territory of the Russian Federation. Of these, 216 are foreign (about 40 are from the US, the rest are from Italy, Spain, Germany, Canada, France, the UK and several other countries).

Special attention should be paid to the method of financing the activities of non-profit organizations. Some of them receive funds from conscientious citizens in the form of donations, but basically their work is paid for by various grants. NPOs that receive money from abroad have recently been subjected to more thorough control, and separate restrictions have been placed on the creation of regional branches for them. In addition, such organizations are more often subject to all sorts of checks. For example, in the spring of this year, the activities of about 100 non-profit entities were inspected.

So what is an NPO? Should they be trusted and are they not foreign agents whose goal is not to improve our lives, but to instill in us a foreign culture and motivation?

These issues became relevant after the law on non-profit organizations came into force. For example, an innovation was the need to register NGOs whose work is related to politics and financed from abroad as "foreign agents". This immediately led to talk that the Government is trying to “put pressure” on the work of organizations that monitor the conduct of elections.

On the otherOn the other hand, the results of sociological studies show that Russian citizens have already given themselves an answer to the question of what NPOs are, and treat them with great confidence: half of the respondents are ready to take part in various meetings, a third - to be volunteers, and a quarter - to initiate creation of new organizations.