Andrei Kazakevich: “All-Russia People's Front” won’t copy “Belaya Rus” all over again

With all the efforts aimed at putting civil society under control, Russian authorities will hardly undertake the tough arrangements similar to those currently employed by the Belarusan authorities.

This opinion shared with the EuroBelarus Information Service the director of the Institute for Policy Studies Palіtychnaya Sphera (Political Sphere) Andrei Kazakevich.

Recently Russian civil society is being increasingly inspected by the state by means of the stick and carrot politics, employed by the Russian authorities. After the law on non-governmental organizations rated as “foreign agents” has been adopted, civil society structures were invaded with the prosecutor’s inspections. At the same time, on March 30 the President Vladimir Putin signed an order about the government assistance of socially oriented NGOs in 2013.

Is it appropriate to say that the Russian authorities adopt Belarusan methods in their struggle with the civil society?

Andrei Kazakevich believes that the main mechanism with the help of which civil society can be easily manipulated is not the control of the cash flow but rather creation of unfavorable conditions for the work of public organizations.

“For instance, organizations can be deprived of registration as well as the possibility to hire an office and conduct public events. And if all the above mentioned is being carried out, then control of the cash flow is not of such big importance”, - noted the political scientist.

He believes that the Russian authorities have every possibility for such steps. However, Andrei Kazakevich assessed the probability that the official Moscow will make use of the same tough methods Belarusan authorities employed as highly improbable.

Lately the “All-Russia People's Front” movement, initiated by Vladimir Putin, is rapidly developing. Will it become a certain copy of the “Belaya Rus” organization that is functioning in Belarus?

“For now it is hard to say what look will this organization acquire, - said Andrei Kazakevich.   – But it will hardly copy “Belaya Rus”, as it is the Belarusan organization that has been formed according to the pattern of the “All-Russia People's Front”. “Belaya Rus” should have developed in some kind of “party in office”, but this idea was blocked later on and is being blocked to this day”.

“I don’t think that Russia will take the course of producing yet another bureaucratic structure within NGO. I assume that more subtle game will be played there, involving the formation of coalitions instead of creating some pro-Putin superstructure”, - the political scientist made his forecast.