Moscow: Russia's parliament, following President Vladimir Putin's lead, on Wednesday softened a Bill on non-governmental organisations, easing proposed curbs on foreign groups, but keeping restrictions for local charities and rights bodies.
The original draft law passed in a first reading by the State Duma last month amid Kremlin fears that NGOs could be used as fronts to foment unrest in Russia like that in Ukraine and Georgia had proposed restrictions on NGOs' activities.
The Kremlin has not obscured the fact that the Bill mainly targeted Western-oriented pro-democracy groups and was aimed at stopping them getting cash from abroad.
However, the Bill stirred an outcry in the West where NGOs, backed by their governments, said the proposed legislation would make their operations in Russia impossible and accused the Kremlin of trying to curtail democracy.
The original Bill had included a system of official registration with the authorities that foreign NGOs said was incompatible with their charters. It had also included financial screening of NGOs' accounts.
Pressed by the United States and Western Europe, Putin then stepped in with amendments lifting most of the proposed restrictions from foreign NGOs while leaving similar Russian organisations under tough government control.
