The Russian, non-governmental, research organization Levada Center was included in the register of non-profit organizations (NGOs) that perform the functions of a foreign agent. This was reported on Monday, September 5th, by the press service of the Ministry of Justice of Russia.

"The fact that the organization corresponds to the features of a non-profit organization performing the functions of a foreign agent, was established in the course of an unscheduled documents check by the Main Department of the Russian Ministry of Justice in Moscow," the statement says.

Meanwhile, the director of Levada Center, Lev Gudkov, said that the organization may cease its operations if it is unable to successfully appeal the decision.

"This is a very bad thing for us, if really ... this decision will not be cancelled. This means the discontinuation of the operations of Levada Center because the conduct of public opinion polls is simply impossible with such a label," Dozhd TV quoted Gudkov as saying.

The Russian sociologist said that the searches were carried out by the Ministry of Justice from the 12th to the 31st of August. The reason for them was a statement by a politician, a member of the party United Russia, Dmitry Sablin.

"The check, in my opinion, was carried out casually and was very biased. It was rigged and it was done very messily. They were fulfilling a politically motivated task," Gudkov said.

In early September, Levada Center issued a survey three weeks prior to State Duma elections. The survey revealed that the ratings of the ruling party, United Russia, had fallen sharply. The share of Russians who are ready to vote for the party which is now in power decreased from 39% to 31% among all respondents and from 57% to 50% among those who would definitely vote.

  Russia

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