PUTIN SIGNS NGO LEGISLATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 000306

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM RS
SUBJECT: PUTIN SIGNS NGO LEGISLATION

REF: MOSCOW 0096

Classified By: Ambassador William J. Burns. Reasons: 1.4 (B/D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The GOR announced January 17 that President
Putin signed the controversial NGO legislation on January 10.
That news was made public when a GOR newspaper that
publishes such announcements printed the bill's text with an
indication of the date of its signing. While Putin had
defended the bill in conversations on January 16 with German
Chancellor Merkel, he had not announced that he had signed
it. In a January 13 conversation with FM Lavrov, the
Ambassador stressed concerns about its implementation. The
Embassy will continue expressing those concerns, including in
the immediate future, when the GOR will presumably spell out
implementing details. END SUMMARY.
.
BILL SIGNED
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2. (U) The lengthy uncertainty and speculation about when the
controversial NGO bill would be signed (reftel) ended when
Rossiskaya Gazeta, which publishes such official
announcements, printed its text with an indication that
President Putin had signed it on January 10. This conforms
with the legal requirement that the text of any bill must be
published after its signing by the president. It will go
into effect ninety days after today's publication. As of
midday on January 17, the Kremlin's official website does not
contain information on Putin's move, although it reports on
other bills the president has approved. We understand the
bill as signed is identical with what the State Duma passed
on third reading on December 23 and the FedCouncil passed
four days later.


3. (U) Observers note that Putin did not indicate that he had
signed the bill when he discussed it on January 16 with
German Chancellor Merkel. He did, however, speak of the bill
as if it had been approved. According to press reports,
Putin said the bill would not harm foreign NGOs that are
working in Russia toward their stated goals. On the
contrary, Putin reportedly said, the government would support
those organizations. Noting that he had asked the Council of
Europe to comment on the bill, Putin said that it had done so
and that all its suggestions had been taken into account when
the State Duma had amended the legislation. Putin said that
among the bill's main goals was to combat "non-transparent
financing of domestic political activity in Russia."


4. (U) Merkel reportedly said that the discussion had
included mention of many objections to the bill. She
stressed that her government would work to ensure that German
foundations and NGOs could carry out their work. Merkel is
quoted as saying: "There were many objections to the bill.
Some were taken into account. But we will watch how they
will be carried out in practice." Merkel met with members of
Russian civil society following her meeting with Putin.
(Septel will address Merkel's Moscow visit.)


5. (SBU) As noted reftel, the bill will now likely go to the
Justice Ministry, which will have the lead in preparing
"normative regulations" laying out details of implementation.
Yuriy Dzhibladze of the Center for the Development of
Democracy and Human Rights told us January 13 that this
process would likely take about three months. He noted the
importance of closely analyzing those regulations given that
apparently small details could have a huge impact on
implementation.
.
LAVROV ON LEGISLATION
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6. (C) The Ambassador discussed the NGO bill in a January 13
meeting with FM Lavrov. The Ambassador underscored our
concerns about the bill, including about its implementation.
Lavrov said he understood those concerns; the MFA had helped
improve the original draft bill to accommodate some concerns,
especially related to foreign foundations, and it would be
important to keep a close eye on implementation.
.
NGO REACTIONS
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7. (C) NGO activists with whom we spoke said they were not
surprised that Putin had approved the bill. Indeed, some
said they had believed Putin had signed it even before the
new year. Our contacts were not hopeful about the bill's
consequences. Some, such as long-time human rights activist
Lev Ponomarev, told us Putin would pay little heed to our
concerns and implement the bill harshly, although he

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acknowledged that might not occur immediately. Others felt
that it was essential for the West, including the U.S., to
keep stressing our concerns in order to have some bearing on
implementing legislation and, over the longer term, on how
the legislation is carried out. Visiting A/S Lowenkron and
DAS Kramer will join the Ambassador for a discussion of this
issue with NGO activists in a January 17 meeting.
.
COMMENT
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8. (C) Putin's signing of the bill came as no surprise, but
the way it was announced is curious. Although any lingering
questions about whether Putin would sign have now been
resolved, how it will be implemented remains an issue,
presumably to be addressed initially in preparation of
"normative regulations." For this reason, we will continue
stressing our concerns about the bill's implementation, and
the visit of A/S Lowenkron and DAS Kramer offers an
opportunity to reinforce that message.
BURNS