The End of Apolitical Environmentalism: The Non-Profit Sector in Russia Since February 2022

Abstract

Even as Russia grew authoritarian in the 2010s, environmental non-profits could operate as long as they remained away from politics. However, the scope for neutrality has narrowed dramatically since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This piece explores governmental attempts to coopt the environmental civic sector, as well as the remaining independent non-profits' strategies for escaping cooptation and navigating this new political landscape. It finds that government-organized environmental NGOs (GONGOs) dominate the environmental sector, while independent NGOs predominantly rely on private business partnerships and donor support for their survival.