Russian NGOs Research Articles

Contradictions in the Development of the Welfare Non-Profit Sector in Russia

The article focuses on the core contradictions within the development of the social non-profit sector in Russia. The empirical basis of the study comprises statistical data, legal documents regulating the social services’ sphere, research data from previous studies conducted in Russia, as well as qualitative data collected for this study. The introduction provides background information on the stages of reforming the social service system in Russia. The first part is devoted to the contradictions between international trends and Russian patterns. In line with a neoliberal approach, non-profit NGOs play a significant role as key actors in social work providing social services for different client groups. At the same time, they are not independent and Russian civil society is not yet strong enough to realize social rights of citizens. In the next section, some of the key issues of interaction between the government and NGOs are discussed. An analysis of the current situation demonstrates that while a social partnership between the state and NGOs is affirmed by authorities on official level, in practice, the state still dominates the social sector. The article then focuses on how Russian NGOs have reoriented their efforts toward financial sustainability through government support.

The Origins of Stigma: Russian NGOs Under the 2012 “Foreign Agents” Law

The Origins of Stigma: Russian NGOs Under the 2012 “Foreign Agents” Law

Russia’s Domestication of Disability Inclusion

ABSTRACT This article examines the institutional conditions and discursive aspects of the depoliticized project of disability inclusion in the late 2010s in Russia. It suggests that the depoliticization of disability inclusion in Russia occurred by outsourcing the task of instituting disability inclusion to Russian NGOs and rendering disability inclusion a “social” problem solvable through these NGOs’ tools. The case of postsocialist disability inclusion in Russia provides an insight into how state-socialist legacies and intensifying postsocialist neoliberalization appropriate such progressive tools of social change as disability inclusion and produce a locally specific discursive formation of this global symbol of development.

Activists in international courts: Backlash, funding, and strategy in international legal mobilization

Activists in international courts: Backlash, funding, and strategy in international legal mobilization

Digital Transformation of Russian NGOs During the Pandemic

Digital Transformation of Russian NGOs During the Pandemic

Russian NGOs in Pandemic Conditions: Crisis of State Support Measures and Survival Methods

Russian NGOs in Pandemic Conditions: Crisis of State Support Measures and Survival Methods

Women’s organizations as a segment of civil society of modern Russia

The article analyses women’s organizations of modern Russia as a component of civil society. The study is based on the gender approach and materials analyzed include statistical data, results of opinion polls, websites of women’s organizations, interviews and other documents. The women’s movement is considered as one of the social practices in the context of the theory of practices proposed by Pierre Bourdie, Robert Connell and others. The author notes that the peak of women’s activity in Russia was in the 1990s, when women were uniting to solve social problems, such as women’s unemployment, human trafficking, etc. During that time, the women’s movement in Russia was developing with the support of international women’s organizations and foreign charity funds, but after the adoption of the so-called law on “foreign agents” many funds suspended or limited their activities in Russia. As a result, nowadays, many Russian NGOs including women’s organizations are facing financial problems. NGOs recognized as a “foreign agent” experience the most difficulties while organizations with the status of socially oriented NGOs can receive government’s support and funding. Using the method of content analysis, the author revealed that names of Russian women’s organizations often include such words as “family”, “childhood”, and “motherhood”, whereas the words “woman”/“women” and ‘women’s’ are rarely used. This is due to the fact that in Russian society there are still widespread views that the range of women’s interests should be limited to the private sphere. At the same time, the gender theory and feminism are often presented as attempts to undermine national traditions. As a result, a woman is considered as an object of social policy rather than a subject of social processes. The majority of Russian women’s organizations focus on charity work, but specific women’s interests and problems are often ignored or undervalued. However, domestic violence, labour market discrimination, and other gender problems can be solved only through the close interaction of the “third sector”, business, and government.

Lawmaking in times of domestic and foreign-policy instability (the Russian experience)

ABSTRACT The article is devoted to the phenomenon of the contemporary restrictive and prohibitive legislation that originates from the conditions of domestic and foreign-policy instability. It primarily focuses on the Russian experience, because the current Russian legislation is an obvious example of legislation exercised with the help of restrictive and prohibitive rules. Such recent and much-talked-of acts as the Dima Yakovlev Law, that bans the U.S. citizens from adopting Russian children, and the ‘Foreign Agents’ Law, that has stigmatised Russian NGOs receiving foreign donations and introduced new forms of control over them, are examined. The author suggests that we should call such legislation ‘exceptional’, distinguishing it from the emergency laws. Unlike the latter, exceptional laws do not contain any regulations concerning the situations of armed conflicts, civil unrest or natural disasters; they have ordinary status and place in the legal system and are adopted in an ordinary procedure. It is claimed that exceptional lawmaking radically transforms the whole legal system: being perceived as normal, exceptional laws gradually change the entire system of legislation that previously did not have any exceptional character and in which obligations and prohibitions did not dominate. Particular attention is paid to the use of exceptional laws as tools of foreign policy and as weapons in the present international conflicts.

An Epistemic Community in Abeyance: The Work of Russian Anti-Violence Organisations in a Restrictive Legal Climate

This article examines how Russian NGOs in the field of domestic violence operate in a legal climate characterised by both state restriction and support. I conceptualise anti-violence NGOs that belong to a network as an ‘epistemic community’ and demonstrate that NGOs in my study faced challenges to the recognition of their expertise by state representatives and to the promotion of their vision of policy change. Yet, these NGOs continued to invest their resources in educational events for state specialists. I propose to theorise these educational events as a means of developing a knowledge-based network that can support domestic violence survivors despite lacking formal mechanisms of inter-agency collaboration.

Advocacy in authoritarian contexts: the case of disability NGOs in Russia

PurposeThe growing trend towards closing the political space for civil society in authoritarian regimes has primarily targeted NGOs focused on rights-based advocacy. Drawing on a study of disability NGOs in Russia, this paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the advocacy options that nonprofit organizations have even in repressive political contexts. The authors first review the extant literature to identify common actors, types and tactics and then trace what types of advocacy Russian NGOs are engaged in and what tactics they are able to utilize.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical part of this paper is based on 20 interviews conducted among active participants in disability NGOs in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Perm and Nizhniy Novgorod. Despite not being a representative sample of organizations, the selection of cities and organizations was intended to reflect spatial and structural factors of the field.FindingsThe authors find that NGOs are able to pursue a broad range of advocacy activities despite a generally restrictive legal environment for civil society.Research limitations/implicationsResearch on advocacy in authoritarian countries is often focused on NGOs that are primarily engaged in these activities. This has overshadowed the considerable leeway that nonprofit service providers have to engage in advocacy.Practical implicationsService-providing NGOs should not forsake advocacy activities, even in authoritarian contexts, but can find access points in the political system and should seek to utilize their voice on behalf of their clients.Social implicationsDespite general restrictions, NGOs can still find ways to successfully secure social rights, justice and solidarity, provided they accept the supremacy of the state in social policy and appeal to the state's responsibility for the welfare of its citizens without directly questioning the overall status quo too heavily.Originality/valueWe develop a broad framework for various advocacy forms and activities and apply it to nonprofit service providers.

‘The Foreign Within’: State–Civil Society Relations in Russia

The development of Russian civil society is linked to authoritarian government, fear of ‘colour revolutions’ and the ‘sovereign democracy’ that legitimises state control of civil society. This article acknowledges the narrowing room for manoeuvre of contemporary Russian civil society and discusses NGOs’ practices in the context of government pressures, the politicisation of transnational connections and the increasing geopolitical tension surrounding Russia. It describes the localisation and depoliticisation of Russian NGOs as well as their disruptive practices, and explains how narrowing civil society identities inform the self-governing of NGOs. Finally, it argues that seeing Russian civil society in simple dichotomies further narrows these identities.

Российские ресурсы «мягкой силы» в Монголии: текущее состояние и потенциал использования

The article analyzes the policy of soft power of Russia towards Mongolia. Along with political, economic, and military methods of influence, cultural ones related to the Russian language, education, science, and mass information remain equally important. Russia has relatively large resources for using soft power in Mongolia, mainly inherited from the era of socialism. However, it does not currently pursue an adequate policy for resources. The main reason of it is the lack of Russian NGOs capable of conducting the policy of soft power in Mongolia. The main channels of soft power of the Russian Federation in Mongolia are the spread of the Russian language, the involvement of Mongolian citizens in the system of Russian higher education. Various media could become a channel for increasing Russian influence in Mongolia, capable of broadcasting an attractive image of Russia to the Mongolian audience and setting the agenda favorable to the Russian side.

Strategies of Russian NGOs to engage in social policy implementation

Although the Russian regime considers civil society to be a threat to its authority, social NGOs are positively viewed by state institutions at all levels. Unlike human rights organisations and political activists, socially oriented third sector organisations are not typically criticised by the propaganda machine. On contrary, these NGOs currently play a crucial role in social policy implementation in Russia. By analysing the trajectories of state-third sector relations of 18 Saint-Petersburg-based non-governmental elderly care organisations, the article characterises three ways in which NGOs approach relationships with the state: NGOs which support state policy by being part of it, NGOs which supplement state policies in spheres the state fails to address appropriately, and NGOs which substitute for the state, in some cases exercising power over local state social services.

Онлайн-фандрайзинг в российских НКО: масштабы и влияющие факторы

В статье дается характеристика уровня развития онлайн-фандрайзинга в российских НКО, а также выявляется и проверяется значимость факторов, способствующих и препятствующих его использованию. Под онлайн-фандрайзингом понимается деятельность, направленная на привлечение ресурсов для реализации некоммерческих проектов и программ некоммерческих организаций через интернет. Авторы описывают основные тенденции онлайн-фандрайзинга за рубежом и в России и обобщают эмпирически исследования детерминант использования онлайн-фандрайзинга в НКО. На основе данных всероссийского обследования НКО, проведенного в 2018 г. в 30 субъектах РФ (N = 1000), с помощью бинарной логистической регрессии тестируются гипотезы о влиянии выделенных факторов на применение онлайн-технологий для сбора средств в российских НКО. Выявляется преобладающая роль факторов, характеризующих взаимодействие НКО с внешней средой по сравнению с традиционными преимуществами, такими как большое число сотрудников организации и сильная ресурсная база.
 Благодарность. Статья подготовлена по результатам работы по проекту «Мониторинг состояния гражданского общества» в рамках Программы фундаментальных исследований НИУ ВШЭ.

Promoting women’s health in prisons in North-West Russia

ABSTRACTIn this article, the authors present findings from a study of the challenges for improving and promoting women’s health in prison settings in North-West Russia. They examine the findings in the light of their own experience in the region and put forward suggestions for overcoming obstacles to reform and progress. These add new knowledge to help fill the gap in applied studies relating to women’s health in prisons and particularly in the Russian Federation and FSU countries. Work was conducted in Kaliningrad, Tver and St. Petersburg cities and oblasts with Ministry officials, prison staff, prisoners and Russian NGOs. It involved a mix of methods including study visits to selected sites and government and non-government organisations, reviews of policy documents and statistical sources, and discussions with key informants. Challenges found include particular issues posed for women and their health and well-being, shortage of links between prison and civilian sector services, lack of unified health services, and lack of employment opportunities and other supports on release. International partnership initiatives are required to bring about a transformation in the health and welfare outcomes of the prisoners in North-West Russia, and in the healthcare provided within prison settings. Gendered policies and practices remain to be developed at regional and local levels. The need to turn Russian prisons in the North-West into Health Promoting Prisons, where human rights are respected and gender issues recognised, is now paramount.

The Role of Russian NGOs in New Public Diplomacy

The manner in which public diplomacy is being practiced is constantly evolving, new means are being developed to create political relationships between states and international publics. Countries are competing globally for the hearts and minds of international publics in their quest for gaining and accumulating soft power. This quest is driven by the assumption that soft power gives countries that possess it advantages, such as a freer hand in foreign policy or attracting foreign investment. Russia is one of those countries that is competing in the global arena, and have been developing their tools of new public diplomacy. One of these tools is the creation and the use of NGOs, which are directed at creating an information environment where Russian policy better placed to be realized.

The Emerging Civil Society-State Nexus in Putin's Russia: A Case Study in Public Health

As of 2017, the main principles, values and goals of the Russian health care system are still under discussion, but the role of non-profit organisations in this sphere remains poorly defined and little understood, following the introduction of a controversial 2012 law restricting the role of foreign funding of Russian NGOs. We find that the evolution of civil society in Russia has given rise to a unique model of civil-state interaction, characterised as an uneasy union, in pursuit of scarce financial resources, between the most influential NGOs in the health sphere and the public authorities.

Overhauling Russia’s Child Welfare system: Institutional and Ideational Factors behind the Paradigm Shift


 Meri Kulmala – Dr., Finnish Centre for Russian and East European Studies/Finnish Centre of Excellence in Russian Studies, Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland. Email: meri.kulmala@helsinki.fi
 Michael Rasell – Dr., School of Health & Social Care, University of Lincoln, UK. Email: mrasell@lincoln.ac.uk
 Zhanna Chernova – Dr. Sciences, Department of Sociology, National Research University 'Higher School of Economics', Saint Petersburg. Email: zhchernova@hse.ru
 
 This article studies the causal factors behind the major overhaul of Russia’s system for children in substitute care that has been taking place since the late 2000’s. A series of reforms have promoted fostering and family-like care in contrast to the large residential homes used in the Soviet period and 1990’s. We highlight the fundamental change in the 'ideal of care' represented by the move to 'deinstitutionalise' the care system by promoting domestic adoptions, increasing the number of foster families, creating early support services for families as well as restructuring remaining residential institutions into smaller, home-like environments. These are all key elements of the global deinstitutionalisation trend that is taking place around the globe. We look at the evolution of the related policies and ask why this policy shift happened during the 2010’s even though the issue of reform had partially been on the Russian policy agenda for some time. Building on an explanatory approach to family policy changes by Magritta Mäztke and Ilona Ostner, which incorporates material and ideational driving forces, we explain that the 'political will from above' behind these major reforms was shaped by a range of other societal and political factors. Multiple factors drove Russian political actors to adopt new ideas about care for children left without parental care. For instance, the increasing conservative turn in policies towards children and families, which are driven by the severe demographic decline in the country, work alongside the influence of international norms around children’s rights and changing socio-economic circumstances. In the 1990’s Russian NGOs had considerable input into the reforms as 'epistemic communities' in policy formation thanks to the high level of expertise that they developed in international networks and the increasing number of cross-sector consultative platforms at governmental bodies in contemporary Russia. We conclude that ideational factors were necessary preconditions for the reforms, but that political forces were ultimately the key driving force. The recentralisation of power and prioritisation of social policy under President Putin allowed new ideas to gain concrete policy realisation.

Организационные реакции российских НКО на законодательные изменения 2012 г

In this article, we examine organizational reactions in the Russian third sector to adoption of the so-called “Foreign Agents” law in July 2012. Within the framework of organizational and resource dependence theories, we analyze state “licensing” policy in relation to civil society organizations and the tightening of regulation in the sector. We propose a typology of NGOs based on resource flows and rules of access, enabling a comparison of the organizational reactions of Russian NGOs to the new regulations. The study is grounded empirically in interviews with 19 representatives of NGOs in nine regions, along with data from internal documents, official statistics, and media reports. Our main argument is informed by the open systems theory of organizations, positing that growing state intervention in the third sector increasingly impacts NGOs’ organizational features, regardless of type. The imposition of a listing of organizations “with foreign agent functions” has affected relations between the state, business, and the third sector, limiting access to resources for the latter. Measures like presidential grants and subsidies to compensate for resource shortfalls tend to be conditional, for example, on political loyalty. More generally, these environmental changes have hindered the capacity of third sector organizations to sustain professionalization. However, Russian NGOs have demonstrated considerable resilience in adapting to these changes through diffusion of organizational forms to minimize the costs of new legislation.</зЮ

ИННОВАЦИОННОСТЬ РОССИЙСКИХ НКО: МАСШТАБЫ И ВЗАИМОСВЯЗЬ С ОСОБЕННОСТЯМИ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ

The article discusses Russian nonprofit nongovernmental organizations in terms of their innovativeness. Based on the empirical data we describe the scope of innovativeness of the Russian nonprofit organizations (48% of the surveyed NGOs have implemented innovations), and identify the most innovative and the least innovative areas of NGOs’ functioning. We analyze correlations of its management characteristics and innovativeness in five spheres: relations with the external environment, relations with the internal stakeholders, organization’s culture, leadership, management of processes and resources. We have identified that such characteristics as participation of various external stakeholders in decision making, participation of the organization in the professional networks; number of employees, number of volunteers, inclusion of employees in decision making; frequency of meetings of the board; organization’s orientation towards innovativeness; sufficiency of funds for implementing innovations, existence of the strategic plan positively correlate with the level of innovativeness. Negative correlation is with the number of years of the leader’s length of service. Number of the members of the board seems not to be related to innovativeness of the Russian NGOs.