On June 15, Russian Deputy Justice Minister Oleg Sviridenko announced the start of an inspection of the Yeltsin Center in Yekaterinburg for the activities of a foreign agent. The center itself is sure that there was “no” reason to recognize the organization as a foreign agent. About the situation around the Yeltsin Center – in the material Russian media.
The inspection of the Yeltsin Center was made public at a meeting of the State Duma Committee to Investigate Foreign Interference in Russia’s Internal Affairs on June 15. United Russia MP Andrey Alshevsky, representing the Sverdlovsk region, suggested that the Ministry of Justice carry out a full audit of the organization and publish its results in order to stop “speculation” around the Yeltsin Center. Sviridenko replied that such a check is already underway at the request of one of the parliamentarians, but did not specify who exactly.
In a conversation with Russian media, Alshevsky explained that there are many “rumors” about the Yeltsin Center.
“This center is only lazy not to kick, in the sense that they accuse it of all sins, in relation to foreign agents, with foreign states, with funding, etc. <...> And I offered to do an audit and publish its results, for everyone to draw the appropriate conclusion, so that they stop speculating on this subject, ”said the deputy.
According to him, the complaints against the Yeltsin Center are made by “people who have never been to this center”.
“For us, for the inhabitants of the city of Yekaterinburg, the Yeltsin Center, I am not afraid of this word, is a cult object, because it was built within the framework of the Federal Law on Presidential Centers, it is named after the first president of the Russian Federation, our compatriot, and in fact it is one of the favorite places of citizens,” Alshevsky said.
The deputy added that at the Yeltsin Center, at his request, a prosecutor’s check had already been carried out, which did not reveal any violations. If violations are discovered by the Department of Justice, the organization must be held accountable. Otherwise, the subject should be “forgotten and closed”, believes the parliamentarian.
At the same time, Alshevsky noted that there were questions about the Yeltsin Center in terms of “organizational terms”, as well as in terms of control over the rental of premises. “It is a multi-faceted job, where it is necessary to carry out checks and take decisions at every stage,” said the MP.
What does the State Duma think of the Yeltsin Center?
Representatives of at least three factions of the State Duma have previously demanded to control the activities of the Yeltsin Center. United Russia MP Alexander Borodai told Russian media that he asked, on his own initiative, to check whether the Yeltsin Center had foreign funding.
“I communicate with my public, I communicate with my fighters, who are very surprised that so far in the rear, while they are fighting for their homeland, the organizational center of the fifth column, traitors to the Russia, operates openly, doing everything from LGBT propaganda to hostile pro-Western liberal propaganda,” Borodai said.
The head of the press service of the Communist Party faction Alexander Yushchenko, in a conversation with Russian media, called the existence of such an institution as the Yeltsin Center “absolutely unacceptable”, because it praises “liberal fascist theses”. The MP also called for the identification and verification of “all those who initiated the opening of such events”.
LDPR MP Andrei Lugovoy pointed to the Yeltsin Center’s “destructive and destructive influence”, calling it “the seat of the fifth column” and expressing hope for its “liberalization”. Lugovoy recalled that the Ministry of Justice in 2022 denied recognize the center as a “foreign agent”, since it does not have such powers due to the particular status of the establishment.
“This special status is like an eternal indulgence. It guarantees a prosperous existence for the parasitic organism, makes it possible to feel in a shell”, writing Lugovoi on his Telegram channel.
Sergei Mironov, leader of the A Just Russia – For Truth faction, told Russian media that “the work of the Yeltsin Center has long raised questions among many citizens” – mainly about the content of the exhibition and the events held at the center. .
“As you know, the status of the Yeltsin Center is determined by the law “On Centers of Historical Heritage of Presidents of the Russian Federation”. But the issue of controlling the content of this activity is on the agenda, since children and teenagers are actively taken to the Yeltsin Center. And they are stuffed with historical myths there, as well as outright misinformation,” Mironov believes.
The Russian President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov called the inspection of the Yeltsin Center “normal work” of the Justice Ministry, but noted that the Kremlin does not know the reasons for its conduct.
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