It always goes badly for Russia. It's bad when we don't have money and bad when we do.

I don't want to be a Cassandra, but I fear the entire nonprofit sector in Russia is facing dark times. There is spy mania in Russia, and they are specially scrutinizing any organization that has foreign funding.

It seems that they are trying to stop all of our activities, because of course without money we can do nothing.

The authorities make it sound as though we're instructing people to build barricades. But we are engaged with things that would not be considered partisan political activities in any developed country, such as holding classes to teach proper political debate, respect for law, civic cooperation, and tolerance.

In Russia they actually go out and patrol, but to collect their money. In Kazakhstan it is so pitiful that the officials, the game wardens, do not even bother to go out.

Russia has become an enormous black hole for our money,