2020

Meeting of the President of the Russian Federation with the New Composition of the Civic Chamber

On June 25, 2020, the President of Russia met with the new composition of the Civic Chamber. Key issues were discussed - from organizing public oversight of the vote on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation to monitoring decisions amid the pandemic.

The Civic Chamber proposed measures for monitoring the implementation of national projects, creating a unified NPO registry, providing additional support to the third sector, and funding assistance for children with rare diseases through a progressive personal income tax.

Following the meeting, a list of 17 instructions from the President of Russia was approved. Their implementation required interagency coordination, and the Civic Chamber prepared expert reports, becoming not only a feedback channel but a full-fledged participant in shaping strategic decisions.

Amendments to the Constitution

In 2020, the Civic Chamber became the connecting link in implementing the constitutional reform, uniting civil society, experts, and the authorities. A group for preparing proposals operated on its platform, which included nine Civic Chamber representatives. Over three months, more than 2,200 initiatives were collected, over 600 were forwarded to the working group, and 11 of the Civic Chamber's proposals were incorporated into the final text of the Constitution.

During the nationwide vote on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Civic Chamber deployed over half a million independent public observers from more than 1,600 public associations to polling stations. As per tradition, a Situation Center operated around the clock on the Civic Chamber's premises. After the vote, the Civic Chamber prepared a report with proposals for developing public observation and conducted expert reviews of draft laws implementing the "social amendments," including matters of education, child protection, youth policy, and the status of the Russian language.

#WeAreTogether— Uniting Efforts in the Fight Against the Coronavirus

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Civic Chamber became the coordinator of efforts by civil society, volunteers, and NPOs. With its support, the #WeAreTogether campaign was launched, uniting over 118,000 volunteers and providing assistance to more than 3.5 million people. The total volume of donations exceeded 1.8 billion rubles.

For an operational response, the project #UnderSupervision2020 was launched, featuring hotlines for state support measures, NPO operations, combating disinformation, and healthcare issues. Based on the collected data, the Civic Chamber prepared proposals to enhance the effectiveness of interaction between the state, citizens, and volunteers.

Developing Systemic Support Measures for NPOs During the Pandemic

One of the key priorities of the Civic Chamber in 2020 became the protection of socially oriented NPOs, which found themselves at particular risk due to restrictive measures. The Civic Chamber's prepared proposals for mitigating the crisis’s impact on the third sector were taken into account in the instructions of the President of Russia and formed the basis of a number of regulatory legal acts.

As a result, unprecedented support measures were introduced, including temporary exemptions from taxes and insurance premiums, a moratorium on inspections, access to preferential lending, and tax incentives for benefactors. Potential recipients of aid included approximately 40,000 organizations.

In April 2020, the Civic Chamber launched the #TogetherNPOs hotline to collect information on NPOs’ needs, their adaptation experience, and successful practices. This initiative became an important tool for horizontal connections within the sector and strengthening institutional support.

Later, the Civic Chamber actively participated in forming registries of NPOs eligible for state support: it facilitated interaction with state authorities, provided up-to-date data and proposals for including organizations, and exercised public oversight over the process.

Given the need for systematization and simplification of procedures, the Civic Chamber proposed consolidating the registries and put forward the initiative to create a unified registry of SO NPOs. At the meeting of the President of Russia with the new composition of the Civic Chamber, this idea received support, and the Government of Russia was instructed to jointly prepare proposals for its formation and maintenance with the Civic Chamber.

Many legislative decisions to support the nonprofit sector, adopted during that period and considered temporary and anti-crisis, were not subsequently canceled after the pandemic ended, allowing for the formation of a full-fledged infrastructure to support the nonprofit sector. The Civic Chamber, together with the civic chambers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, submitted a set of proposals to the Government of Russia for inclusion in the National Action Plan, ensuring the restoration of employment and incomes, growth, and long-term structural changes in the economy. The main focus was on two key areas: targeted support for vulnerable categories of citizens and the resilience of the small and medium-sized enterprise sector.

The Civic Chamber’s proposals became the basis for forming sustainable models to support civil society and economic actors amid crisis conditions.

Adjusting National Projects and Public Monitoring of Their Implementation

On the instruction of the President of Russia, the Civic Chamber ensured public oversight over the implementation of national projects. Simultaneously, the Government of Russia was directed to integrate the measures of the National Action Plan for restoring employment, incomes, and economic growth into the national projects, strengthening their social orientation.

Together with the civic chambers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the Civic Chamber collected and analyzed over 500 proposals aimed at supporting civil initiatives, disseminating successful practices, and improving mechanisms for achieving socially significant outcomes. Based on this, the Civic Chamber's commissions prepared a set of proposals for adjusting the content of the national projects, taking into account the real needs of the population and regional specifics.

The work was built on a systematic analysis of national project implementation practices in the regions and allowed for the development of recommendations based on public demand and concrete experience.

Sustainable Development

In 2020, environmental protection and sustainable natural resource management became among the most pressing issues for society, requiring the participation of the expert community and civil society institutions in resolving social conflicts.

One of the most resonant events was the emergency in Norilsk related to the diesel fuel spill. Following discussions organized at the Civic Chamber, a set of proposals for eliminating the consequences and compensating for the damage was formed and submitted to state authorities, being taken into account in decisions on ecosystem restoration.

Another acute example was the conflict around the industrial development project of the Kushtau Shihan in the Republic of Bashkortostan. The Civic Chamber supported the decision to prohibit economic activity in that area and to create a specially protected natural area of regional significance. The situation around Kushtau highlighted a systemic problem—the need for institutional civil society participation in settling environmental disputes. The Civic Chamber took control not only of this specific case but also of similar conflicts in other constituent entities of the Russian Federation to develop balanced and fair solutions.

Continuing this work, the Civic Chamber conducted a public expert review of the draft federal law proposing amendments to legislation on specially protected natural areas.

Following an expert discussion of its provisions, the relevance of the proposed changes regarding the protection of the rights of the local population living within specially protected natural areas and the need to reduce social tension were noted.

At the same time, provisions of the draft law that allowed for the reduction of national park areas under the formal pretext of changing their borders also caused serious concern and criticism.

The Civic Chamber expressed a clear position against the inadmissibility of weakening the legal regime of specially protected natural areas and submitted relevant conclusions to the state authorities.

Rating Studies as a Tool for Developing the Public Sphere

Since 2020, the Civic Chamber, together with the rating agency "RAEX-Analytics" (RAEX), has been implementing a large-scale project to conduct annual nationwide rating studies. These studies have become an important tool for supporting and developing civil society institutions, forming sustainable feedback mechanisms, and driving tangible improvements across various sectors.

Regional Third Sector Rating "Region-NPO"

The "Region-NPO" rating became the first public tool for the comparative assessment of the level and quality of nonprofit sector development in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. It allowed for an evidence-based evaluation of real regional disparities in third sector development and became an effective mechanism for implementing changes at both the regional and federal levels.

Rating of Civic Chambers of the Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation

The goal of launching the rating of civic chambers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in 2020 was to assist regional civic chambers in objectively assessing their activities. The annual publication of the study’s results has shown that healthy competition for high positions in the rating stimulates regional civic chambers to improve the quality of their work, refine their mechanisms, and enhance the effectiveness of interaction between public institutions and citizens, state authorities at various levels, and the expert and professional community.