Levada Center is recognized as a foreign agent

The Ministry of Justice included the Russian non-state research organization “Analytical Center of Yuri Levada” (“Levada-Center”) in the register of non-profit organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent.

“The fact of conformity of the organization by the signs of a non -profit organization performing the functions of a foreign agent is established during the main department of the Ministry of Justice of Russia in Moscow of an unscheduled documentary audit,” the Ministry of Justice said in a message on the website of the Ministry of Justice.

Earlier, the leader of the Antimaydan movement, Senator Dmitry Sablin, applied to the Ministry of Justice, reports Interfax .

The circulation published on the Anti-Maidan website notes that the Levada Center has fulfilled orders for the US Department of Defense, and that since 2012 it has received more than 120 thousand dollars from the United States. ”

“A political order was made to the Ministry of Justice for the denunciation of a member of the Council of the Federation Sablin. -commented on Novaya Gazeta the director of Levada-Center Lev Gudkov. “He is one of the ideological leaders of Anti -Maidan, a person who drowns everything that is possible to show his political loyalty and devotion.”

The situation with the recognition of the Levada Center by the foreign agent Lev Gudkov said: “This will mean the destruction of the independence of sociological research in the country. There are simply no other such organizations. Of course, we will dispute this decision, but you ourselves understand that we are not very many chances. ”

The Levada Center , named after the Russian sociologist Yuri Levada (1930–2006), regularly conducts its own and custom-made sociological and marketing research and is one of the largest Russian organizations in its field. The Center’s research team was the first to conduct regular public opinion polls throughout the country, starting in 1988.

PS “Levada Center” intends to continue its activities and prepares objections to the act of the Ministry of Justice in accordance with the procedures provided for by law. “We will accept all possible actions in order to get rid of the prefiguration of the foreign agent,” quotes Interfax as Deputy Director of Levada-Center, Alexei citizens.

“Honestly, it is not very clear to me why the Ministry of Justice declared us a foreign agent without listening to our arguments,” Partyskin added.