Press Release, 16.04.2020

Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov appealed to President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to provide support to the entire sector of non-profit organisations, regardless of their type of activity and sources of funding. At the moment, the government is ordered to implement support measures only for non-profit organisations providing aid to citizens in the situation of COVID-19 pandemic.

Rybakov, who had previously headed the Bellona Environmental Law Centre in Russia for eight years and worked in the coalition of non-profit organisations in St. Petersburg, noted in his address that the activities of the third sector were significantly hindered during the pandemic and restriction of personal contacts. In this regard, maintenance of work by many non-profit organisations is under threat. In addition, due to the economic crisis, the number of donations, through which many organisations operate, has significantly decreased. According to Rybakov, despite the difficulties a significant part of non-profit organisations continue providing aid to citizens.

“Non-profit organisations represent a significant sector of the Russian economy – according to experts, the total number of employees of non-profit organisations (excluding state and municipal authorities) amounts to more than 650,000 people,” Nikolai Rybakov emphasised in the appeal.

In this regard, Yabloko considers it necessary to take support measures for all non-profit organisations, similar to the measures for small businesses that the government has already adopted. According to the head of the party, these measures should include the following:

• tax holidays for non-profit organisations until the end of the pandemic;
• a delay in the submission of annual and quarterly reports;
• suspension of rent collection (when renting a room in a state or municipal fund) or development of a special programme for compensation of rental payments (when renting premises in a non-state fund);
• provision of subventions of non-profit organisations for payment of utility bills for the period of a pandemic;
• suspension of inspections of non-profit organisations during the pandemic period;
• development of a scheme for provision of long-term interest-free loans for the payment of salaries to employees of organisations;
• simplification of tendering procedures for obtaining state financing;
• provision of financial support to non-profit organisations involved in the protection of rights, aid to patients and people with disabilities, and charitable activities;
• provision of assistance to non-profit organisations assisting in obtaining permits and passes for movement.

“Such measures would allow the third sector go on with their work preserving the structure and experience, significantly helping many people during the emergency period,” Nikolai Rybakov believes. The Chairman of Yabloko proposes to approve the programme as soon as so that its implementation could start on 1 June.