“Russia Declares Greenpeace ‘Undesirable Organization’, Forcing It to Cease Work in Country”

Environmental organization Greenpeace has been labeled an ‘undesirable organization’ by the Russian government, and will therefore cease its work in that country. The organization announced this in a press statement.

On Friday, Russia’s prosecutor announced that the environmental organization had been declared “undesirable” because it had “tried to interfere in state affairs and spread anti-Russian propaganda”. The organization is also said to have called for sanctions against Russia. Greenpeace says in a response just to be punished “because we protest against plans that are disastrous for nature”, such as logging and soil and air pollution.

Greenpeace Russia now says it has to stop working, “because everything we would do from now on is illegal in Russia.” Chairman Sergei Tsiplenkov told Reuters that he is considering appealing the decision of the Russian government, “but I don’t recall that such an appeal has ever made sense.”

Russia has declared dozens of organizations ‘undesirable’ since 2015, especially civil society organizations dealing with civil rights or corruption. “We knew this could happen,” said Tsiplenkov, “but we were still not fully prepared for it. I hope that from now on nature protection will still be possible in our country, and that individual Greenpeace employees will not be prosecuted – myself included.”

Greenpeace was previously prosecuted by the Russian government when employees of the organization protested against oil extraction by Russia in the Arctic Ocean in 2013. The Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, which sailed under the Dutch flag, was then boarded in international waters by Russian commandos, after which the crew was detained for a while.

In 2015, the Permanent Court of Arbitration already ruled on the basis of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea that Russia had acted unlawfully and had to pay compensation to the Netherlands. Russia initially did not recognize the authority of the court, but nevertheless tacked in 2019: the country paid 2.7 million euros to Greenpeace in a settlement.