| Russian President Vladimir Putin says he wants to | | | | President Putin's comments on foreign NGOs |
| put an end to foreign non-governmental | | | | came just hours before he met with the visiting |
| organizations financing political activities in Russia. | | | | Belarus president, Alexander Lukashenko, the man |
| His comments have raised immediate concern | | | | often referred to in the West as Europe's last |
| about the long-term fate of democratization | | | | dictator. |
| projects in Russia. | | | | Belarus is often mentioned as another possible |
| President Putin said Russia can not permit any of | | | | place where popular protests could be sparked, |
| its political parties to be financed from abroad, | | | | due to the lack of tolerance for any political |
| saying no self-respecting country would allow this. | | | | opposition or opposition media. |
| Addressing the first Kremlin meeting of the | | | | Before sitting down with his Belarussian |
| Council for Promoting Civil Society Institutions and | | | | counterpart, President Putin was warned by a |
| Human Rights, a body with presidential oversight, | | | | Kremlin-connected foreign policy analyst that the |
| Mr. Putin said he had received reports that money | | | | human rights situation in Belarus is worsening. |
| allocated from abroad was being used to pay for, | | | | The analyst, Sergei Karaganov, who heads the |
| what he called, "sensitive political activities." | | | | Council for Foreign and Defense Policies, said |
| President Putin did not identify which foreign | | | | many Russians are among those falsely accused |
| nations allegedly engage in this practice, nor did he | | | | and jailed in Belarus for minor economic crimes. |
| specify how such activities were sensitive in | | | | Mr. Karaganov also criticized moves against |
| nature or provide any other proof or details. | | | | Russian media in Belarus and, what he called, the |
| The Russian president's comments raised | | | | country's "prevailing culture of fear." |
| immediate alarm among civil society and human | | | | Mr. Karaganov said if the situation is allowed to |
| rights activists in Russia who say the move, if | | | | continue unchecked, bloody events could be |
| carried out, could spell the end of civil society and | | | | provoked by the local population or by those who |
| democratization programs in Russia. | | | | he said compete with Russia from abroad. |
| Russian officials are widely perceived to be | | | | President Putin said he would raise the issue during |
| privately nervous about outside support sparking | | | | his two days of talks with Mr. Lukashenko, which |
| a people's uprising in Russia, much like those seen | | | | continue Thursday. |
| in Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan. | | | | The two leaders have said the main focus of |
| Russian, Ukrainian and Kyrgyz politicians have | | | | their talks will be the proposed union between |
| alleged that U.S. funding of NGOs was instrumental | | | | Russia and Belarus. The plan calls for closer |
| in helping opposition leaders topple long-time, | | | | political, economic, and military ties between the |
| Soviet-style leaders in their countries. It is a | | | | two predominantly Slavic nations, but stops short |
| charge the United States and the new regimes in | | | | of creating a single state. |
| those former Soviet Republics deny. | | | | |