NGOs v. national security

Putin’s Pre-emptive Strike: Kremlin Moves to Liquidate 'Foreign Agents'

Activist Pavel Chikov could react only with sarcasm when a court handed down a winding up order against his Agora legal advocacy association. "As the first NGO ever to have been liquidated in a Russian court, we are so proud," he wrote on Twitter.

The next day, another organization, the Golos Democracy Foundation, fell under the same spotlight when the Justice Ministry issued almost identical proceedings. Like Agora, Golos is a prominent and influential NGO, a thorn in the Kremlin's side. And like Agora, it has also been labeled a "foreign agent."

Co-chair of Golos Grigory Melkonyants, responded to the proceedings in a completely serious way. "It seems a new campaign has begun to shut down NGOs on the "foreign agents" list," he wrote on Facebook. "Out of sight — out of mind."