The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has recognized the activities of the Finnish organization EastCham Finland as undesirable. This is stated in the department’s message.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, “after the start of a special military operation” (as the Russian authorities call the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022), “the organization’s activities changed radically, ceasing to correspond to the initially stated goal – supposedly promoting the development of Russian-Finnish trade and economic cooperation.” The organization began to support Ukraine and condemned Russia’s actions. It is alleged that it “together with another Finnish organization operating under American leadership” (what kind of organization this is is not reported) is carrying out targeted work to promote the ideas of abandoning economic cooperation with Russia and, in particular, advising Finnish companies on exiting the Russian market.
As stated on the organization’s website, it is now focusing on Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Eastern Europe, monitoring the Russian market and offering companies information and advice on sanctions and changes in the business environment. The organization has not yet commented on its inclusion on the list of undesirables.
About 100 organizations have already been recognized as undesirable in Russia, mainly foreign NGOs, but the list also includes media outlets such as Meduza and Dozhd. The activities of such organizations are prohibited in Russia, and cooperation with them faces criminal liability.
