What Happened

In late February 2026, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation added CISR e.V. Berlin to the list of "undesirable organizations." We received no official notification and learned of this decision by chance.

We thus find ourselves on the long list of research institutions, civil society organizations, and independent media outlets that have been outlawed in Russia for doing exactly the work they were created to do.

We Disagree with This Decision

We consider this decision ungrounded and illegitimate.

CISR e.V. conducts independent social research on post-socialist societies and runs educational projects. The label "undesirable" says nothing about our work — but it speaks volumes about the conditions under which independent research is forced to operate in Russia today.

What This Means Under Russian Law

An "undesirable organization" is prohibited from any activity on the territory of the Russian Federation, including the dissemination of its materials online. Since 2021, the law also applies to those who cooperate with such an organization — both within Russia and abroad:

- Participation in the organization's activities — an administrative fine of up to 100,000 rubles (Art. 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences). As far as we have been able to determine, in practice this means being an employee of the organization and/or distributing our materials. Reading them is not prohibited.

- Repeated participation after having been held liable — a fine of up to 500,000 rubles or up to 4 years of imprisonment; organizing such activities — up to 6 years (Art. 284.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

- Financing the organization's activities — up to 5 years of imprisonment.

We are not in a position to provide legal assessments of how these provisions are applied in practice in Russia. Please refer to the current articles by OVD-Info on this topic (link at the bottom of the page).

To Our Colleagues and Friends — Especially Those in Russia

The safety of colleagues and partners associated with CISR e.V. Berlin — especially those living in Russia — is our top priority. We are doing our best to minimize risks for participants in our projects.

If you choose to distance yourself or unsubscribe from our public pages, we will understand completely. As far as we currently know, subscribing to a public page does not in itself entail legal liability — but if you live in Russia, please assess the risks for yourself.

How to Stay in Touch

If you would like to continue following our work, subscribe to our Telegram channel @cisrberlin. Subscribers' names remain hidden there.

We Continue Our Work

We stand in solidarity with the organizations, researchers, and journalists who continue their independent work in the face of growing pressure. The decisions of the Russian authorities make our work more difficult, but they cannot stop it.

The "undesirable" designation underscores how vital independent research, memory work, and the free exchange of knowledge are today. We continue our work.

CISR e.V. Listed as an "Undesirable Organization" in Russia

Russia

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