A top official of Russia's only nonstate election-monitoring organization says the group is considering liquidating after being declared a "foreign agent."
The Russian Justice Ministry announced on September 4 it was adding the Golos organization to its list of foreign agents. A controversial Russian law says any nongovernmental organization involved in politics that receives foreign funding must register as a foreign agent.
The term carries a pejorative Cold War-era connotation and critics say the law is aimed at discrediting such groups.
The law is among several measures President Vladimir Putin's government has taken to clamp down on groups seen as opposed to the government.
In response to the move, Golos co-Chairman Grigory Melkonyants was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying: "It's possible we will liquidate.... Evidently, we'll now have to do that."
