Center for Civil Society International ([email protected])
Fri, 29 Aug 1997 16:55:01 -0700 (PDT)
Excerpts from ASI bulletin 29, (18-24 July, 1997)...
CCSI presents excerpts from the Agency for Social Information
(ASI) e-mail information bulletin. Translated from the
Russian for CCSI by Alyssa Deutschler. For more information
on how to receive ASI's bulletin regularly, contact:
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AGENTSTVO SOTSIALNOI INFORMATSII
Kutuzovskyi pr. 22 pod. 14a,
Moscow, 121151
Tel./fax: (095) 249-3989
E-mail: [email protected]
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The New Tax Code Will Put Half of
Russia's Charitable Organizations in Jeopardy
In September, a second round of hearings on the proposed tax code
will begin in the Duma. In response to this, members of a group
advocating the amendment of new tax code provisions for charitable
organizations appealed to everyone working in Russia's
philanthropic sector to join forces and urge the government to
revise the code. Included in the group were representatives from
the Association of Russian Banks, the Chamber of Commerce, various
charitable organizations and several Duma deputies. The group
stated that the government should expand the official categories
of citizens who are eligible for tax-exempt status (refugees,
invalids, etc.) and adopt amendments concerning taxes levied on
property given in the capacity of a charitable donation. H.F.
Burtsevoi, director of the legal service CAF-Moscow, stated that
if amendments to the new tax code aren't adopted, no less than 50%
of Russia's charitable organizations will cease to exist.
* * * * * * *
A New Regional Social Center is Formed--
"Ecology & Social Justice"
The "Ecology & Social Justice" Center was created by a group of
lawyers interested in upholding the rights declared in the Russian
Federation's constitution--in particular, the right to live in a
healthy environment and the right to free speech. The Center will
defend the ecological and social rights of citizens and
organizations within the Federation's court system. Members of
the Center consider this to be particularly vital given that
currently in Russia it is very difficult to win a legal action
concerning a citizen's right to non-hazardous environmental
conditions (for example, in cases where a citizen is seeking
compensation for damaged health or property due to environmental
conditions).
Contact telephone: (095) 292-0254
* * * * * *
Network of Regional Resource Centers Begins in
Kaluzhskoi, Tverskoi, Tul'skoi & Moskovskoi Oblasts
The goal of this new network of resource centers is to increase
the effectiveness and stability of non-commercial organizations in
the four oblasts. Available at the centers will be information on
various local, regional, and international resources for NGOs, as
well as information about groups interested in potential
partnerships. The centers will also provide training sessions on
such topics as organizational development, tax issues for NGOs,
and legislation that impacts the third sector. Financial backing
for the network comes from a grant from USAID.
Contact telephone: (095) 958-21-72/958-24-06
Fax: (095) 958-51-30
E-Mail: [email protected]
* * * * * *
St. Petersburg NGOs Demonstrate in Support of
Civil Rights in Belarus
On the 12th of August, in front of the CIS General Assembly
Building in St. Petersburg, representatives from various NGOs and
political parties gathered to stage a demonstration in support of
civil rights for citizens and journalists in Belarus. Among the
demonstrators were representatives from "Young Christian
Democrats" and "Citizens' Control" (NGOs) and local members of the
Democratic Choice of Russia political party. The event was
countered by a noisy anti-demonstration, organized by
representatives from "Working Russia" and the National Bolshevik
Party.
Among the demonstrators' demands were the immediate release of
imprisoned ORT journalists Pavel Sheremet, Dmitri Zavadskoi and
Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov, and the assurance from Russian media
directors that journalists be able to work in Belarus without fear
of pressure or threats from the Belarusian government, in
accordance with international law. Demonstrators sent letters to
Russian Federation president Boris Yeltsin and CIS General
Assembly Chairman Yegor Stroev urging the Russian government and
the General Assembly to support freedom of the press in Belarus.
* * * * * * *
"Northern Correspondent"
An Old Name for a New Publication
The Center for the Support of Non-Commercial Organizations in
Archangelsk has published the first issue of the "Northern
Correspondent," a newspaper for NGOs. In the 1920s, a newspaper
for a local hobbyist club was published under the same name, but
today's "Northern Correspondent" is aimed at the more than 600
registered NGOs in the Archangelsk region rather than collectors.
The newspaper will deal with such issues as the government's role
in resolving social problems, how NGOs can better help people, and
many others.
Contact telephone: (8182) 44-1523
E-Mail: [email protected]
* * * * * * *
Will the "Novyi Nizhnii" Foundation Continue?
In June of this year the "Novyi Nizhnii" foundation ceased
operations. The foundation, created by former governor Boris
Nemtsov, was the best-known charitable organization in the region.
It united businesses interested in giving to charity with
organizations for the needy. Among the recipients of "Novyi
Nizhnii" funds were an orphanage, a psychiatric hospital and a
local newspaper for the disabled, as well as several schools and
children's clubs. However, after Nemtsov's departure from the
governorship to Moscow, the foundation closed. Irina Simonenko,
former director of the foundation, expressed hopes that the
oblast's new governor, Ivan Sklyarov, would continue the
"tradition of charity" and re-open the foundation.
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