The Prosecutor General's Office has declared the activities of the Norwegian environmental organization Bellona (Miljøstiftelsen Bellona) «undesirable», the agency said on its Telegram channel.
“It has been established that the activities of the organization are aimed at undermining the Russian economy, discrediting the domestic and foreign policy pursued by the authorities, destabilizing the socio-political situation in the country and posing a threat to the foundations of the constitutional order and security,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement. .
According to the agency, the Bellona Foundation finances the work of non-profit organizations declared «foreign agents», «shapes public opinion about the failure of Russian environmental policy, as well as the incompetence of the Russian gas and oil industries» and «discredits» the army.
< p>In February 2022, Bellona condemned the invasion of Ukraine and ceased operations in Russia. “The end of our work in Russia is a tragedy, but the war makes it impossible to continue,” said Bellona founder and president Frederic Hauge.
The organization has worked in Russia for 30 years, it had offices in Murmansk and St. Petersburg. Bellona's environmentalists studied the consequences of radioactive accidents and improper disposal of nuclear waste, sought the safe decommissioning of nuclear submarines in the Arctic, and monitored the work to clean up the northern border areas.
Bellona's website continued to be updated: the organization wrote about the energy crisis provoked by the war in Ukraine, the threats posed by shelling near the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, and other environmental consequences of the invasion.
The Ecological Association also covered the recognition of environmental organizations as «foreign agents» and the persecution of activists. Murmansk «Bellona» was included in the list by the Ministry of Justice in 2015, St. Petersburg — in 2017.
In 1995, environmentalist Alexander Nikitin was accused of disclosing state secrets for preparing a report for Bellona, five years later the Supreme Court acquitted him.