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RIA Novosti
The Commission of the Federation Council will keep track of hostile activity by foreign States.
As it became known “Kommersant”, June 7 at the Federation Council (SF) will pass parliamentary hearings “the prevention of interference in the internal Affairs of the Russian Federation”. Hearings will be conducted by the speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko. Also, according to “Kommersant”, in the near future the chamber will set up a Commission which will be engaged, in particular, the monitoring of “hostile activity of foreign States and international organizations” and the drafting of legislation. Experts believe that the fight against the external enemy will be used during the upcoming presidential campaign.
On Wednesday the Federation Council will pass parliamentary hearings on the theme “Counter-intervention in the internal Affairs of the Russian Federation: legislation and practice”, told “Kommersant” two sources in the upper house. Hearings organized committees of the Federation Council on constitutional legislation and state construction and international Affairs, and hold them personally by the speaker Valentina Matvienko. At the hearing invited representatives of the law enforcement bodies, security services and attorney General. As reported by “Kommersant” in SF, the initiative was born after the recent meeting of Vladimir Putin with the leaders of France and Germany, during which “the Russian President categorically dismissed accusations of Russian meddling” in the Affairs of other countries, saying that Russia “is the subject of active and purposeful intervention from the outside.”
In the near future in SF also plan to create a Commission that “in order to prevent interference in the internal Affairs of the Russian Federation” will be engaged in the analysis of the Russian and international legislation and legislative drafting. The Commission, according to interlocutors “Kommersant”, will focus on the monitoring of “hostile activity of foreign States and international organizations towards Russia”. This is “forced and only legal response” to “a sharp increase in external activity as it approaches presidential elections in our country”, said the interlocutors of “Kommersant”. Among these “channels of influence”, explained the Federation Council, “foreign and loyal to the West, the Russian media” and “non-governmental organizations aimed at whipping up protest in Russia.”
Similarly, there are in other countries, making decisions “to counter Russian intervention”, added to SF. “In the U.S. in may was approved the Act on the financing of the intelligence community, providing for the establishment of a new interdepartmental Committee designed to counteract the “hidden influence” of Russia. In Europe, the previously created “task force on strategic communications in the East”, which main task is “anti Russian propaganda”,”— said the interlocutor of Kommersant. The Commission will work “indefinitely”, the upper house it will annually present a report. Its composition will be determined at the next meeting of Council.
Recall that in recent years, the Russian Parliament adopted a number of high profile initiatives to fight against “outside interference.” In the summer of 2012 was adopted the law on NGOs—foreign agents (this status is given to organizations with foreign funding and engage in “political activity”). Fines for failing to register with the Ministry of justice led to the closure of a number of NGOs, in March of this year, the ECHR communicated from 61 organization recognized by noagenda. As of June 5, in the registry of foreign agents of the Ministry of justice was listed 95.
At the end of December 2012 was adopted the law “On measures of influence on persons involved in violations of… rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Federation” (also known as “antimagnitskogo the law” or “Dima Yakovlev law”). He bans US citizens from adopting Russian orphans, and if they violated the rights of Russians, depriving them of the right to enter Russia, their assets have been imprisoned and the activities of Russian legal entities controlled by them shall be suspended.
In the spring of 2015, was adopted the law on undesirable organizations, according to which if the activities of foreign NGOs “represents a threat to the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation, the country’s defense or security of the state”, the Russian accounts and assets must be blocked, and the entry of company employees in Russia are limited.
In July 2015, SF has made its “Patriotic stop list”, which includes 12 NGOs. The list of SF had no legal force, but were sent to departments for verification organizations to “the subject of anti-Russian activity” and possible unwanted recognition. While the stop-list is never replenished, and in November of 2016 senators took a “political pause” in its formation.
The President of the Council on foreign and defense policy Fyodor Lukyanov calls the new initiative of the SF response in the General “atmosphere of suspicion of outside interference”. “All these techniques that we do have some time to develop (measures against “interference in internal Affairs.”— “B”), suddenly become widespread in the West, primarily in the United States. This role of the Russian factor in the internal squabbles of other countries, I do not remember”— said Mr. Lukyanov. On the question of the extent to which the threat of real intervention, “must meet the security services,” said the expert.
Political analyst Konstantin Kalachev believes that “the concerns of SF hostile activities from abroad, there is a desire to demonstrate not just a complete loyalty to the President, but their inclusion within the current Patriotic trend”. According to the analyst, the subject of the image of the enemy and unite against it “will be used in the upcoming presidential campaign,” which will help “strengthen the position” of Vladimir Putin. In addition, hopes to improve relations with world leaders, including presidents of the United States and France, did not materialize, and this “need to explain” and “can be linked with their hostile attitude towards Russia.”
Natalia Kurchenkova