Halya Coynash: Putin makes it easier to brand any group in Russia or occupied Crimea a ‘foreign agent’
Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (R) waves as he walks in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, on May 25, 2014, with Minister for Crimean Affairs Oleg Savelyev (C) and Putin's envoy to Crimea, Oleg Belaventsev (L), accompanying Medvedev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law widely believed to be aimed at destroying civil society altogether. Only corrupt public officials in Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea will be celebrating since the new definition of 'political activity' now in force makes it much harder to criticize them.
