Domestic Funding for Civil Society in a Non-Democratic Context: The Example of the Presidential Grants in Russia

Abstract

This chapter examines the nature of governmental support of civil society in a non-democratic context, taking the example of Russia. Russian civil society organizations exist in dual realities when the state sets up a structure of supporting measures but at the same time limits the scope of their activity. While limiting measures and their effects on Russian civil society have been well analyzed, this chapter considers the issue of how state support for civil society actors actually shapes the sector and contributes to regime legitimacy. We argue that governmental support for civil society organizations in non-democratic regimes not only bolsters the state’s welfare function but also attempts to intertwine non-governmental welfare provision with elements of a state-led legitimation discourse.

Achieving regulatory legitimacy in volatile institutional contexts: the case of Russian non-profits

“…These dual objectives led to the laws as they pertain to non-profits being amended 79 times since NPOs became an organizational category in Russia's legal system, with most changes occurring since 2006 (Skokova, 2017). Ambiguity has been a key feature of all such regulatory developments in Russia (King, 2007).…”