Putin further curtails democracy

On Saturday Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the NGO law that has been the subject of fierce international criticism. The left-liberal daily El País is outraged: "Only two months after Vladimir Putin assumed presidential office in his country for the third time, he has already broken his campaign promises and reversed the course of his loyal predecessor Dmitry Medvedev, which was cautiously pushing to open up the country. The obedient Russian parliament has ensured all the necessary laws have been passed to quash anti-government protests and curtail political freedom. The Internet is controlled by a black list of 'detrimental' websites, insulting [the authorities] has been outlawed again and non-governmental organisations are now being criminalised. The NGO law which was drafted by the Duma and signed by Putin on Saturday rules that such organisations are 'foreign agents' as soon as they receive money from abroad, and forces them onto the margins of legality."

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