TALLINN – Rights groups, activists and independent media in Russia and Belarus endured increased government scrutiny, repressive laws and even being outlawed and forced to operate from exile abroad. Many survived despite the difficulties.
Now some face a new challenge: the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to freeze for 90 days the aid provided by Washington.
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The aid, which came directly from or via the partners of the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as from other entities funded by the U.S. government, was a source for some of their grant money.
“Objectively, it’s a very bad thing,” an activist with Center-T, a prominent Russian trans group, told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. “Organizations could have done much more significant things if it weren’t for this situation.”
Members of Russian and Belarusian rights groups and independent media organizations described varying effects of the action, from “bad” to “unpleasant.” Many get funding elsewhere, like private donations or other grants, but some said they don't know which of their partners are linked to U.S. aid and whether more will withdraw support.
Aid freeze means cutting expenses, scrapping plans
Some Russian organizations said they'll still operate but will cut expenses and possibly plans, adding they knew of others in bigger jeopardy.
OVD-Info, a Russian rights group that tracks political arrests and offers legal aid, is largely funded by “private donations from a large number of people,” so the freeze “has little direct and immediate impact,” said OVD-Info spokesman Dmitry Anisimov, but other groups that help it with certain activities are affected.
“Without their existence, our work will become significantly more difficult,” he said, and those in need of assistance will be affected, too.
An editor of an independent Russian news outlet operating in exile echoed Anisimov and also cited crowdfunding as one reliable revenue sources. The editor spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The outlet lost less than 10% of the budget in frozen grants, the editor said, adding: “Yes, it’s hard, unpleasant, difficult, but we’re not on the brink of imminently shutting down. We’re not even on the brink of laying people off”.
Center-T, whose core staff moved abroad after the Russian Supreme Court designated what it called the LGBTQ+ “movement” as extremist, effectively outlawing all LGBTQ+ activism, also lost only a fraction of funding, its staffer said.
“We are, possibly, in one of the luckiest positions, because we almost didn’t have U.S. funding,” they said.
Kovcheg — Russian for “arc” — a group helping Russians fleeing abroad with shelter, legal and psychological support, training and other support, lost 30% of its budget after Trump’s action, said its founder, Anastasia Burakova.
The funds were allocated for future projects, as well as various improvements, she said. “It’s a shame” they won’t happen, but otherwise, Kovcheg is “more or less stable”, thanks to crowdfunding and advertising, Burakova added.
Burakova, who formerly headed a legal aid group in St. Petersburg backed by exiled tycoon-turned-opposition-figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky, cited repressive laws and regulations that make it harder for critical and independent groups to get funding from Russians.
Laws that drive Russian donors away
Most Russian rights groups and independent news outlets have been designated as “foreign agents” by the Russian authorities -- a label that turns potential donors away with its negative connotation. Russia has banned advertising with them.
Others have also been labeled “undesirable,” a category that outlaws any dealings with groups so designated, exposing donors to prosecution.
Many had to move their teams abroad after Russia invaded Ukraine to avoid the ever-widening crackdown.
But, “the more you’re being beaten and banned, the more you adapt and stop counting on just one thing" for your funding, Burakova said.
In light of the aid freeze, Khodorkovsky and Russian philanthropist Boris Zimin this week offered $600,000 to affected Russian and Ukrainian projects.
It's not clear how much U.S. aid Russian organizations were receiving and how much of that could be offset by Khodorkovsky's and Zimin's funding.
“Of course, it wouldn’t be enough,” Zimin said, but “many of these projects are very important, especially, I think, media (projects). I consider it my duty to support them at least for some time.”
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said it was unable to comment.
Funding losses for Belarus pro-democracy forces
Pro-democracy forces from Belarus told AP the frozen U.S. aid they were receiving -– about $30 million -– accounts for over half of all of their Western funding. It comes from both USAID, either directly or through partners, and entities like the U.S.-government funded National Endowment for Democracy. Dozens of nongovernmental organizations and several independent media groups are on the brink of closure, they said.
Opposition leaders recently prepared a report for Western governments, outlining the effects of the freeze, according to a person close to Belarusian opposition leaders. The person spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
Without Western-supported independent media and pro-democracy forces, Belarus and Russia “will likely fill the void by strengthening state propaganda and authoritarian control in Belarus, allowing pro-Kremlin narratives to dominate the minds of Belarusians,” the person said.
An activist from the Belarusian Association of Journalists said that out of 30 large Belarusian media groups working abroad, six said they lost funding completely and are on the brink of closing. The activist spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
According to the opposition's report, $1.7 million in U.S. aid is frozen -– more than half of all foreign aid to independent media forced to flee Belarus after authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko unleashed a widespread crackdown on dissent in 2020.
Now, small independent newsrooms are laying off employees to avoid closing, the activist said: “If a newsroom stops operating, resuming later is almost impossible, which sets the media apart from other beneficiaries of U.S. aid,” the activist said.
A YouTube show, “A Regular Morning,” with videos regularly drawing over 100,000 views, said it was shutting down but asked for donations and said it would keep going through March.
“We have already found ourselves in situations where the continuation of the project was not obvious, but each time we found a way to continue the work, because we understood that Belarusians need to hear reasonable voices,” its journalists said.
The activist believes dozens of media projects will inevitably cease.
Rights groups also are affected. According to the person close to opposition leaders, 60-80 groups face possible mass layoffs, ending programs or closing for good.
The person expects that “programs to support political prisoners will be drastically cut, Belarusian youth will lose access to alternative educational programs, and activists will lose their platforms.”
There are over 1,200 political prisoners in Belarus, according to Viasna, the country’s leading human rights group, whose imprisoned founder Ales Bialiatski won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.
Thousands of activists, including some freed from prison, have moved abroad, and groups that received U.S. funding were helping them and their families.
The freeze will “significantly impair” Viasna’s work, according to activist Pavel Sapelka. But it won’t “stop human rights advocates” entirely, he insisted.
Franak Viačorka, a senior aide to opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, told AP the exiled activist is urgently looking for ways "to keep afloat the independent media and the civil society of Belarus, which has run into a new challenge.”
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the State Department’s European and Eurasian Bureau.