Russian Security Agency Says Nonprofit Groups Help Terrorists

The director of the Russian security service has accused foreign nonprofit groups of helping terrorist organizations recruit new members in Russia, reports The Moscow Times.

“Emissaries of foreign terror and religious-extremist organizations, exploiting socio-economic problems and ethnic and religious differences, are trying to conduct recruiting efforts,” Nikolai Patrushev said in televised comments.

Another federal agency has reported that the number of nonprofit groups operating in Russia has fallen from 600,000 in 2002 to 227,577 in 2007, and some aid organizations said they expect that number to drop by another 15,000 to 20,000 this year. The Kremlin has cracked down on foreign groups, claiming the organizations are spying.

“We are already forecasting that a mass liquidation of NGO’s will occur this summer,” says Maria Konevskaya, director of the Resursny human-rights group in St. Petersburg.