The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation recognized the Free Buryatia Foundation as an “undesirable organization”. This is stated on the website of the department.
The reason for recognizing the fund’s activities as “undesirable” in Russia was given by the Prosecutor General’s Office as “organization of anti-Russian actions.”
The department clarified that the fund’s leaders, living abroad, under the guise of “educational” activities, “are making attempts to create information threats, organize mass protests on the territory of Buryatia, expand the circle of people who support possible separatist sentiments among the inhabitants of the republic.”
In addition, the fund, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office, “provides legal assistance in terminating contracts for service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, takes part in the preparation of sanctions lists for the leadership of the region for their transfer to international instances.”
In March 2023, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation entered Free Buryatia into the unified register of “foreign agents”
In February of this year, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs put the founder of the foundation, human rights activist Alexandra Garmazhapova on the wanted list.
The anti-war foundation “Free Buryatia” helps military personnel from Buryatia terminate their contracts and return home from the war in Ukraine. Thus, the management of the fund reported that about 500 military personnel from Buryatia terminated their contract with the Russian army and refused to participate in the war in Ukraine. With the help of the fund, 150 people have already returned home. Before their dismissal, they were kept in a closed area for several days, threatening to initiate criminal cases.
