Another American-Russian fund recognized as a threat to Russia

The Prosecutor General's Office has recognized the non-governmental organization from the United States, the American-Russian Foundation for Economic and Legal Development, as an undesirable organization in Russia, the official representative of the supervisory agency, Marina Gridneva, said on Friday.

“The president of the fund is a US citizen, who, due to activities directed against the interests of the Russian Federation, is prohibited from entering the country until 2025,” Gridneva said.

Among other things, she noted, “the fund provided financial assistance to Russian non-profit organizations performing the functions of a “foreign agent” and participating in political processes on the territory of the Russian Federation.”

“It has been established that the activities of this organization pose a threat to the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation and the security of the state,” Gridneva noted.

According to her, “information about the decision made was sent to the Russian Ministry of Justice to include the named fund in the list of foreign and international non-governmental organizations whose activities are recognized as undesirable on the territory of Russia.”

The Prosecutor General's Office explained that the decision to recognize the undesirable activities of a non-governmental organization from the United States was made “based on the results of a study of the received materials.”

As follows from the information on the website of the American-Russian Foundation for Economic and Legal Development, in Russia the fund is managed by a board of directors, which includes citizens of the United States and Russia. The fund has 11 Russian employees in its office in Moscow, and the director of the Russian branch is Anna Danilina. The president of the foundation is Mark Pomar, who before working at the foundation led the non-profit organization IREX, specializing in student and scientific exchanges.

Earlier, “Forum” wrote that on November 30 it became known that the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia in the same way and with the same wording entered with two other foreign organizations working in Russia - the Open Society Foundation and the Assistance Foundation.

In the Soros Foundation rejected the prosecution of the Prosecutor General’s Office, expressing regret and alarm in connection with this decision.

In turn, the US State Department called the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office “another example of increasing pressure from the Russian government on independent voices” and “a deliberate step towards further isolation of the Russian people from the world.”