(Source: http://www.prometeus.nsc.ru)

The former Russian Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin called the law on foreign agents flawed after it effected the non-profit foundation “Dynasty”. Human rights defenders also criticized the inclusion of the foundation into the register of foreign agents.

“The inclusion of the “Dynasty” Foundation into the list of foreign agents shows that the relevant law is flawed” - Kudrin wrote in Twitter. The member of the Presidential Human Rights Council (HRC) Daniil Dondurei heading the relevant specialized committee on Cultural Rights expressed regret at the decision of the Ministry of Justice, as RIA “Novosti” reported.

The Head of the Moscow Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alekseeva stressed that after the inclusion of the NGOs into the list of foreign agents many of them are under threat of closure. A member of the Public Chamber Elena Topoleva-Soldunova called the decision of the Ministry of Justice on “Dynasty” a bad example. “This is a bad example to others. Instead of motivating people to create similar foundations, to help Russian science, we are doing a completely different thing. This decision does harm to the country” - she said, noting that “Dynasty” was one of the first private foundations in Russia that was trying to support scientists.

The Ministry of Justice of Russia included the non-profit foundation “Dynasty” into the list of foreign agents. The decision was made following the results of the inspection carried out by the agency, as the press service of the Ministry of Justice told to TASS.

The possible closure of the foundation was announced on Monday, May 25, by the journalist Aleksandr Nevzorov. The Head of this organization, businessman Dmitry Zimin, confirmed that in case of recognition of the foundation a foreign agent it would most likely cease to exist. It is planned to make the final decision on June 8 at a closed meeting of the Board of “Dynasty”.

In early May the Ministry of Justice denied the information that the foundation might be considered a foreign agent. The “Dynasty” Foundation was established by the President of the “VympelCom” company Dmitry Zimin in 2001 to support and promote national science. It deals with providing grants to young professionals in the field of natural and social sciences.

The President of Russia Vladimir Putin signed a law on undesirable foreign and international organizations. The text of the document was published on Saturday, May 23, at the official web-portal of legal information.

The law allows to recognize undesirable the activities of international or foreign non-governmental organization presenting a threat to the fundamentals of the constitutional order of Russia, its defense capacity or security.