The federal law is designed to regulate the activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that receive funding and other resources from foreign sources and engage in political activities.
The law provides for the establishment of a register of NGOs acting as foreign agents. In order to carry out its activities as a foreign agent, an NGO must apply to be included in the above register before starting its operation. The annual financial reports of such NGOs and the various subdivisions of foreign non-profit NGOs shall be the subjects of mandatory audits.
NGOs acting as foreign agents shall submit to the federal executive body in charge of NGOs registration documents containing a report on their activities and personnel in their governing bodies once every six months, and documents on the expenditure of funds and resources including from foreign sources on a quarterly basis, and audit reports – annually. Such NGOs are required to publish regular reports on their activities on the Internet every six months.
Routine checks of NGOs acting as foreign agents shall occur no more frequently than once a year. The federal law also specifies the grounds for unscheduled inspections.
The materials published or distributed by these NGOs, including via the media or the Internet, must indicate that these materials are published or distributed by an NGO acting as a foreign agent.
The cases when funds are received by NGOs in amounts equal to or exceeding 200,000 rubles [$ 6,500] are subject to mandatory inspection.
The creation of an NGO that infringes on the personal freedoms and rights of citizens, as well as the consistent non-observance of the duties under the legislation of the Russian Federation on NGOs acting as foreign agents constitute criminal offences.