Russia cutting off aid from U.S. for democracy work

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Russia cutting off aid from U.S. for democracy work

Updated: September 18, 2012 - 7:31 PM

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MOSCOW - Russia has ordered the United States to end its financial support for a wide range of pro-democracy groups, human rights organizations and other civil society programs in an aggressive step to halt what the Kremlin has come to view as thinly veiled American meddling in the country's internal affairs.

The decision to end two decades of work in post-Soviet Russia by the U.S. Agency for International Development was announced on Tuesday by the State Department in Washington. It will cut off aid that currently totals about $50 million a year.

The aid money from Washington supports a variety of organizations and advocacy efforts, including Golos, Russia's only independent election monitoring group.

The programs had been authorized through a bilateral agreement that expired in September 2010. While little progress had been made on a new accord, Russia's decision to cancel the programs caught Washington by surprise.

Officials said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov informed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of the decision when they met in Vladivostok earlier this month.

NEW YORK TIMES