The Ministry of Justice does not have the authority to check the “Yeltsin Center” under the law on foreign agents

The Ministry of Justice of Russia, which recently announced an inspection of the Yekaterinburg “Yeltsin Center” for possible violations of the law on so-called foreign agents, does not have sufficient powers for this. Last year, the agency reported this to State Duma deputy Andrey Alshevskikh, who was the initiator of the inspection. A scan of last year’s letter signed by Deputy Minister of Justice Oleg Svyridenko was published by Alshevskih himself.

At the same time, the same Svyridenko stated in the State Duma on June 15 that the department is now inspecting the “Yeltsin Center” at the request of the Alshevskys.

Last year’s response of the Ministry of Justice states that the activities of the Yeltsin Center are regulated by the federal law “On Centers of Historical Heritage of Former Presidents of the Russian Federation”, and not by the law on non-profit organizations. Therefore, “conducting verification measures in relation to the center, as well as recognizing the center as a non-profit organization performing the functions of a foreign agent, is currently not possible.”

The fact that the Ministry of Justice still announced an inspection of the “Yeltsin Center” does not explain the Alshevskys in any way. In a telegram, he wrote that Svyridenko’s latest statement came as a surprise to him. As Alshevskikh writes, according to the current legislation, the Center is now not obliged to report on its income, including income from abroad, “that is why it feels its impunity.” The deputy from “United Russia” sees the “only way out” in that to amend the legislation and leave the “Yeltsin Center” benefits.

“Yeltsin Center” was opened in Yekaterinburg, for the family of the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin. This is a public, cultural and educational center, a part of which is the Yeltsin Museum, dedicated to the modern political history of Russia and the personality of the first president. Vladimir Putin was present at the opening of the center.

In recent years, the Yeltsin Center has been criticized by supporters of the CPRF and so-called patriots, among whom were prominent pro-Kremlin public figures. They reproached the center for “one-sided” coverage of recent Russian history. One of the most famous supporters of the closure of the Yeltsin Center is director Nikita Mikhalkov.