State Duma asks Prosecutor General’s Office to declare student publication DOXA ‘extremist organization’

The State Duma Commission for Investigating Foreign Interference in Russia’s Internal Affairs asked the Prosecutor General’s Office to declare the student news outlet DOXA an “extremist organization.”

The head of the commission, Vasily Piskarev, said that DOXA “operates from Germany, among other places,” is engaged in “promoting pro-Ukrainian propaganda” and has been involved in “conducting illegal protest actions.”

"Their efforts to involve our young people in illegal activities should be stopped and given an appropriate legal assessment," Piskarev concluded.

The commission also proposed that the activities of 30 nongovernmental organizations, civic structures, and public associations be declared “undesirable” or “extremist.” These include the Ark project, which helps people who left Russia because of the war in Ukraine, and the Free Russia Forum, an independent platform of the Russian opposition. In total, this could affect organizations from 15 European countries and the United States. According to Piskarev, they are “controlled by NATO governments and aim to undermine Russia from within.”

“Previously, these structures have specialized in provoking unrest and separatism within Russia, interfering in elections, spreading drug-related propaganda, involving teenagers in destructive activities, using various technologies to discredit Russia, and actively engaging in anti-Russian activities in the context of the Special Military Operation,” Piskarev said.

• In October, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office declared the German non-governmental organization Dekabristen “undesirable.” Dekabristen implements projects to strengthen civil society in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.
• In November, deputies of the State Duma requested that the activities of the international organization Greenpeace be recognized as “undesirable.”
• On November 14, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office declared the organization Open Press “undesirable.” The Prosecutor’s Office did not specify what this organization was, but it had previously been used by one of Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s companies.