International Foundation for Civil Liberties
Encyclopedia
The International Foundation for Civil Liberties is a non-profit organization
established by the Russian tycoon
Boris Berezovsky in November 2000."Oligarch hits out at his Kremlin monster" The Guardian
21 December 2000 Critics see it as an anti-Russian propaganda organization.
The foundation is headquartered in New York City
and headed by microbiologist, author and activist Alexander Goldfarb. The stated mission of the foundation is "to provide financial, legal, informational and logistical resources to secure human rights
and civil liberties
in Russia."
The first grant of the foundation ($3 million) was given as an endowment
for the Andrei Sakharov
Museum and Civic Center in Moscow. The grant was accepted by Sakharov's widow Elena Bonner. By May 2001, 160 more grants have been awarded by the foundation to NGOs engaged in human rights protection across Russia"BEREZOVSKY MAKING MOVES BACK TO POLITICAL SCENE" The St. Petersburg Times May 15, 2001 including Committees of Soldiers' Mothers
, a major human rights
network."Russian Soldiers' Mothers Work Together" Associated Press
January 14, 2003"SOLDIERS' MOTHERS TO FORM PARTY" The St. Petersburg Times, November 9, 2004 Among other IFCL projects in Russia, observers noted support of persecuted journalists, legal aid for soldiers persecuted by officers in the Russian army, and funding lawyers to defend child offenders, to save them from being locked up for years in TB-ridden prisons."The oligarch's revenge" The Guardian
19 February 2005
As part of its campaign to highlight violations of human rights in Chechnya
, jointly with Amnesty International
and the International Helsinki Federation, IFCL sponsored screening of documentaries on the Chechen War
around the world."Disillusionment over Chechnya. Journalists say their revelations of brutality in Chechnya have accomplished little" The Baltimore Sun October 05, 2003http://www.hot.ee/f/festivaal/press_us.htm "Chechnya Film Festival"]] and took out full-page advertisements in international press criticising the human rights record of president Vladimir Putin
."Russian critics blast Putin's record" BBC News
23 September, 2003 IFCL promoted the film Assassination of Russia
, which accused the FSB
security service of staging Moscow apartment bombings, which led to the Second Chechen war
."Baltic countries broadcast controversial film" The Baltic Times
Mar 28, 2002
On the eve of the 2006 meeting of G8
Club of industrial nations in St. Petersburg, IFCL launched mocking advertisements depicting Vladimir Putin
as Groucho Marx
."Groucho trips up the G8 spin doctors" The Times
July 13, 2006G8 Forbidden Ads
IFCL paid legal expenses of Chechen separatist leader Akhmed Zakayev
in his successful bid against extradition request from Russia."Tycoon to fund Chechen extradition fight" BBC News
3 November, 2002
IFCL has been a major sponsor of transcribing the so-called Kuchma tapes - the recordings in the office of the Ukrainian president made by Major Mykola Melnychenko
"BEREZOVSKY HOPES TO SELL ORANGE REVOLUTION TO RUSSIA" Jamestown Foundation Monitor Volume: 2 Issue: 54March 17, 2005"BEREZOVSKY THREATENS TO OPEN PANDORA'S BOX CREATED BY FUGITIVE UKRAINIAN BODYGUARD" Jamestown Foundation Monitor Volume: 2 Issue: 65 April 3, 2005 and contributed at least $21 million to Ukrainian opposition in support of the Orange Revolution
.
IFCL supported Alexander Litvinenko
through a resettlement grant that paid for rent of his two-bedroom apartment in UK. The director Alex Goldfarb who had arranged Litvinenko’s defection from Moscow in 2000 became prominent as a spokesman for Litvinenko after his poisoning and death.
After the killing of Alexander Litvinenko
IFCL seems to have folded down its public activities. The foundation's web site has not been updated since 2006.
Elena Zhimkova concerning the possibility of abusing the fund by its director to resolve "personal issues".
Konstantin Chaplin claimed that Berezovsky sponsored pickets in Voronezh against an organization that, according to Chaplin, protects interests of Russian people, protects historic rights of Eastern Orthodox Church
and has merits in state building.
An author by initials AIA referred to an article in Komsomolskaya Pravda
implying that the Foundation undermines the state of Russia. The article quoted a Moscow State University
professor Vladimir Dobrenkov and a political analyst Sergei Markov stating that civil liberty defenders can overthrow the Russian government and thus help Western powers gain access to Russia's raw materials.
An article in The Guardian
stated that unnamed critics accuse the foundation in "bankroll[ing] widespread opposition to Mr Putin". The article said that some activists refused grants from the foundation while others accepted them.
Mary Jordan and Peter Finn in The Washington Post
quote Sergei Markov saying that Berezovsky fought Kremlin to restore his political influence in Russia.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
established by the Russian tycoon
Business oligarch
Business oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from post-Soviet parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics during the privatization in Russia and other post-Soviet...
Boris Berezovsky in November 2000."Oligarch hits out at his Kremlin monster" The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
21 December 2000 Critics see it as an anti-Russian propaganda organization.
The foundation is headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and headed by microbiologist, author and activist Alexander Goldfarb. The stated mission of the foundation is "to provide financial, legal, informational and logistical resources to secure human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
in Russia."
The first grant of the foundation ($3 million) was given as an endowment
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
for the Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. He earned renown as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the...
Museum and Civic Center in Moscow. The grant was accepted by Sakharov's widow Elena Bonner. By May 2001, 160 more grants have been awarded by the foundation to NGOs engaged in human rights protection across Russia"BEREZOVSKY MAKING MOVES BACK TO POLITICAL SCENE" The St. Petersburg Times May 15, 2001 including Committees of Soldiers' Mothers
Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia
The Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia works to expose human rights violations within the Russian military.The organization was founded in 1989. Before 1998, it was known as the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia....
, a major human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
network."Russian Soldiers' Mothers Work Together" Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
January 14, 2003"SOLDIERS' MOTHERS TO FORM PARTY" The St. Petersburg Times, November 9, 2004 Among other IFCL projects in Russia, observers noted support of persecuted journalists, legal aid for soldiers persecuted by officers in the Russian army, and funding lawyers to defend child offenders, to save them from being locked up for years in TB-ridden prisons."The oligarch's revenge" The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
19 February 2005
As part of its campaign to highlight violations of human rights in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
, jointly with Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
and the International Helsinki Federation, IFCL sponsored screening of documentaries on the Chechen War
Chechen War
There have been two Chechen Wars:* 1940–1944 insurgency in Chechnya* First Chechen War, 1994–1996* Second Chechen War, 1999–2009...
around the world."Disillusionment over Chechnya. Journalists say their revelations of brutality in Chechnya have accomplished little" The Baltimore Sun October 05, 2003http://www.hot.ee/f/festivaal/press_us.htm "Chechnya Film Festival"]] and took out full-page advertisements in international press criticising the human rights record of president Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
."Russian critics blast Putin's record" BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
23 September, 2003 IFCL promoted the film Assassination of Russia
Assassination of Russia
Assassination of Russia is a 2002 documentary film that describes the September 1999 Russian apartment bombings as a terrorism act committed by Russian state security services....
, which accused the FSB
FSB
FSB may refer to:in business and economics:* Financial Stability Board, an international group of financial authorities* Swedbank, a retail banking group* Fuqua School of Business, a business school...
security service of staging Moscow apartment bombings, which led to the Second Chechen war
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
."Baltic countries broadcast controversial film" The Baltic Times
The Baltic Times
The Baltic Times is an independent general interest weekly covering the news, business and culture issues of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania....
Mar 28, 2002
On the eve of the 2006 meeting of G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
Club of industrial nations in St. Petersburg, IFCL launched mocking advertisements depicting Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
as Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
."Groucho trips up the G8 spin doctors" The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
July 13, 2006G8 Forbidden Ads
IFCL paid legal expenses of Chechen separatist leader Akhmed Zakayev
Akhmed Zakayev
Akhmed Khalidovich Zakayev is the former Deputy Prime Minister and the current Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria , which is unrecognised by other countries...
in his successful bid against extradition request from Russia."Tycoon to fund Chechen extradition fight" BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
3 November, 2002
IFCL has been a major sponsor of transcribing the so-called Kuchma tapes - the recordings in the office of the Ukrainian president made by Major Mykola Melnychenko
Mykola Melnychenko
Mykola Melnychenko was a bodyguard of the former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.Between 1998 and 2000 Melnychenko allegedly recorded numerous conversations that took place in the office of the Ukrainian leader before fleeing abroad with the secretly taped recordings...
"BEREZOVSKY HOPES TO SELL ORANGE REVOLUTION TO RUSSIA" Jamestown Foundation Monitor Volume: 2 Issue: 54March 17, 2005"BEREZOVSKY THREATENS TO OPEN PANDORA'S BOX CREATED BY FUGITIVE UKRAINIAN BODYGUARD" Jamestown Foundation Monitor Volume: 2 Issue: 65 April 3, 2005 and contributed at least $21 million to Ukrainian opposition in support of the Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
.
IFCL supported Alexander Litvinenko
Alexander Litvinenko
Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko was an officer who served in the Soviet KGB and its Russian successor, the Federal Security Service ....
through a resettlement grant that paid for rent of his two-bedroom apartment in UK. The director Alex Goldfarb who had arranged Litvinenko’s defection from Moscow in 2000 became prominent as a spokesman for Litvinenko after his poisoning and death.
After the killing of Alexander Litvinenko
Alexander Litvinenko
Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko was an officer who served in the Soviet KGB and its Russian successor, the Federal Security Service ....
IFCL seems to have folded down its public activities. The foundation's web site has not been updated since 2006.
Criticism
Amelia Gentleman quoted acting director of Memorial societyMemorial (society)
Memorial is an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-Soviet states. It focuses on recording and publicising the Soviet Union's totalitarian past, but also monitors human rights in post-Soviet states....
Elena Zhimkova concerning the possibility of abusing the fund by its director to resolve "personal issues".
Konstantin Chaplin claimed that Berezovsky sponsored pickets in Voronezh against an organization that, according to Chaplin, protects interests of Russian people, protects historic rights of Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and has merits in state building.
An author by initials AIA referred to an article in Komsomolskaya Pravda
Komsomolskaya Pravda
Komsomolskaya Pravda is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper, founded on March 13th, 1925. It is published by "Izdatelsky Dom Komsomolskaya Pravda" .- History :...
implying that the Foundation undermines the state of Russia. The article quoted a Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
professor Vladimir Dobrenkov and a political analyst Sergei Markov stating that civil liberty defenders can overthrow the Russian government and thus help Western powers gain access to Russia's raw materials.
An article in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
stated that unnamed critics accuse the foundation in "bankroll[ing] widespread opposition to Mr Putin". The article said that some activists refused grants from the foundation while others accepted them.
Mary Jordan and Peter Finn in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
quote Sergei Markov saying that Berezovsky fought Kremlin to restore his political influence in Russia.