Hundreds of Russian civil society activists work in nongovernmental organizations on behalf of causes â such as human rights, environmentalism, and legal defense against official abuses â that often bring them into friction with the authorities. Key problems for activists have been laws which require any âpolitically activeâ group that receives funding from abroad to register as a âforeign agent.â Failure to do so means fines and possible closure. Why We Wrote This The Kremlin has spent almost a decade labeling civil society groups as âforeign agents,â and is now applying it to individuals. Do activists find that they have been hampered by the stigma?