Centaur jumps for money

The state is strengthening its presence in the non-profit sector. For what? On the next amendments to the law “On Public Associations”

Amendments to the law “On Public Associations” prepared by the Ministry of Justice appeared on the Federal Portal of Draft Regulatory Legal Acts. This law (dated May 19, 1995 No. 82-FZ) will be supplemented by a detailed article 17.1 on “peculiarities of the creation, activity and liquidation of public associations with the participation of the state.”

In the event of the establishment of a public association with the participation of the state or its accession to the rights of the founder of an operating organization, a representative of the relevant government body will receive a decisive vote in the management bodies of the association - up to the right of veto on decisions taken contrary to the “opinion of the state.”

Until the amendments proposed by the Ministry of Justice are adopted, Article 17 of the 1995 law remains in effect:

“Interference by government bodies and their officials in the activities of public associations... is not permitted, except in cases provided for by this Federal Law.”

Article 17 of the law will remain, but Article 17.1 will precisely establish exceptions to it if the draft is submitted to the Duma and adopted.

Kommersant, which was the first to draw attention to the appearance of this document in the database, at the same time draws the wrong conclusion, claiming that it “defines a public association as an organization “with state participation.” The state’s policy towards civil society encourages this assumption, but if the law is adopted, existing public associations will remain in their previous form, simply “associations with state participation” will be added to them.

Kommersant refers to an explanatory note to the project, which is not posted in the database and could only be obtained from the Ministry of Justice. It follows from it that there are currently about 700 public associations with state participation in Russia. Among them: “Movement of the First”, “Yunarmia”, “Society “Knowledge”, DOSAAF, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, sports and veterans, including regional, organizations, etc. All of them were established on the basis of special laws, since in accordance with the sentiments that prevailed in the State Duma in 1995, Federal Law-82 did not provide for the possibility of creating such centaurs at all.

Chairman of the Council of the Association “Lawyers for Civil Society” Daria Miloslavskaya believes that the amendments proposed by the Ministry of Justice are not intended to place a representative of government agencies in all existing public associations, but only to set a single template for the creation of public associations with the participation of the state. If a general law is adopted, such an association can be established (or the form of a public one can be changed) by presidential decree or government decree.

But Kommersant is not entirely wrong: against the backdrop of the advantages, primarily financial, that public associations with state participation receive, public associations are simply doomed to either wither away or try to somehow fit into the state feeding trough.

In countries where civil society has a rich and long history, this problem has been known for a long time, and a special term was even coined for its discussion: GONGO (Government-Organized Non-Governmental Organization). These are “simulacra” created from above and controlled by the state. In addition, they create ample opportunities to “cut” the state budget.