Golos (election monitor)

GOLOS was founded as an association of non-profit organizations in 2000 to support civil monitoring of elections.{{Cite web |url=http://www.golosinfo.org/en/about-en |title=About us |last=|first=|date= |website=golosinfo.org |publisher= |access-date=2016-09-22}}

Michael McFaul, a Russian ambassador at the time, claimed in 2012 that Golos was funded by a US government agency. However, he didn't disclose details on for how long.{{cite web |title=The smear that killed the 'reset' |website=www.opinionglobal.cl |url=https://www.opinionglobal.cl/the-smear-that-killed-the-reset/ |access-date=2021-06-11}} Before being expelled from Russia in September 2012, USAID had been partly funding Golos.{{cite news |date=2012-09-19 |title=Russia expels USAID development agency |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-19644897 |access-date=2021-06-12}}

Since 2002 GOLOS has monitored elections and referendums of all levels. The Telegraph describes GOLOS as being "one of the few organisations able to catalogue and publicise [the Kremlin's] attempts at fraud and intimidation".

The group publishes a newspaper called Grazhdansky Golos (Civil Voice).

In the 2008 presidential election and accompanying local elections, GOLOS representatives found many irregularities, including the following.[http://golos.org/a1335.html STATEMENT # 3 OF GOLOS ASSOCIATION ON THE RESULTS OF SHORT-TERM MONITORING OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS ON MARCH 2, 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705173605/http://www.golos.org/a1335.html |date=July 5, 2008 }}, The GOLOS Association, Moscow, March 3, 2008

• incomplete combined protocols, as in 50% of polling stations in Ufa, Kostroma and Kursk;
• failure of electoral commissions to prevent voters from reusing their absentee ballots in Veliky Novgorod, Tomsk, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Ufa;
• casting ballots by some voters on behalf of other people in Krasnodar, Vladimir, Kostroma;
• presence of government officials other than members of electoral commissions in Omsk, Adygea, Barnaul, Yekaterinburg, Yoshkar-Ola, Perm, Pskov.

During the 2011 Russian legislative election, 2,000 monitors coordinated by GOLOS took part in election observation.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/world/europe/russia-puts-pressure-on-elections-monitor-golos.html|title=Russia Puts Pressure on Election Monitor, Golos|last=Barry|first=Ellen|date=2011-12-01|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-09-22}}

GOLOS set up an interactive map of violations to which users could submit reports, video evidence, audio recordings and photographs.{{Cite web |url=https://www.kartanarusheniy.org/ |title=Карта нарушений на выборах |trans-title=Map of election violations |last=|first= |date= |website=kartanarusheniy.org |publisher= |access-date=2016-09-22}} It attracted over 4,500 reports alleging illegal campaign tactics, including stories of employers threatening workers with pay cuts and local officials ordering business leaders to pressure subordinates.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/world/europe/russian-court-fines-election-monitor-1000.html|title=Russian Election Monitor Golos Fined $1,000 by Judge|last=Barry|first=Ellen|date=2011-12-02|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-09-22}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-16032402|title='Hacking attacks' hit Russian political sites|date=2012-03-08|newspaper=BBC News |language=en-GB |access-date=2016-09-22}}

Citing the map, Russian prosecutors charged GOLOS with publishing election data during the five days before voting. It also accused Golos of "dissemination of rumors under the guise of trustworthy reports, with the goal of defaming a party as well as its individual members.” Golos was subsequently fined for these alleged breaches.

During the election, the website was subjected to Denial-of-service attacks.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russia-fsu/2011-12-09/vladimir-putins-cyber-warriors|title=Vladimir Putin's Cyber Warriors|last=Soldatov|first=Andrei|author-link=Andrei Soldatov|date=2011-12-09|website=Foreign Affairs|publisher=|access-date=2016-09-22}} The state-owned channel NTV showed reports accusing GOLOS Association of disrupting the elections paid for by the United States.{{cite news |url=http://lenta.ru/news/2011/12/02/guilty1/ |title=Суд оштрафовал ассоциацию "Голос" |trans-title=The court fined the Golos association |website=Lenta.ru |lang=ru |access-date=}}

In early 2012, Russia introduced legislation which required NGOs receiving foreign donations to present themselves as "foreign agents" in outward communication.{{cite news|url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=07&dd=13&nav_id=81252 |title=Russian Duma adopts NGO "foreign agents" bill |date=13 July 2012 |access-date=17 July 2012 |work=B92 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916085414/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=07&dd=13&nav_id=81252 |archivedate=16 September 2013 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/world/europe/for-nearly-5-hours-a-confident-putin-takes-questions.html |title=For Nearly 5 Hours, a Showcase of Putin’s Fully Intact Confidence |date=April 25, 2013 |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=}}

The same year, GOLOS received the Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. While both Golos and the Helsinki Committee stated that Golos had not accepted the prize money, Russia's Justice Ministry in April 2013 used it as a reason to qualify Golos as the first "foreign agent" under the new legislation.{{cite news|url=http://nhc.no/no/nyheter/Legal+actions+against+Golos+violate+human+rights.b7C_wlfQ5e.ips|title=Legal actions against Golos violates human rights - Den norske Helsingforskomité|publisher=nhc.no|access-date=2016-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412191522/http://nhc.no/no/nyheter/Legal+actions+against+Golos+violate+human+rights.b7C_wlfQ5e.ips|archive-date=2016-04-12|url-status=dead}} After GOLOS refused to register as such, it was suspended in June 2013 for six months.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23070102|title=Russia NGO law: Election watchdog Golos suspended|date=26 June 2013|access-date=1 July 2013|newspaper=BBC News}} After its suspension in 2013, GOLOS reorganized as civil movement "Golos" to continue its work.

On 7 July 2015, Russian police raided the offices and the homes of several Golos employees and confiscated equipment including computers. Police linked the raids to a tax investigation against the head of the group's branch in Samara.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-08/russia-raids-and-registers-local-election-monitor-foreign-agent/6602742|title=Russian police crack down on election monitors and watchdogs|website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=8 July 2015|publisher=}} The police raid was accompanied by a TV crew from state-controlled NTV.{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/russia-cracks-down-moscow-election-monitors-352039|title=Russia Cracks Down on Moscow Election Monitors|website=Newsweek|date=9 July 2015|publisher=}}

In February 2016, the Justice Ministry asked Moscow's Basmanny District Court to ban GOLOS, citing a failure to present proper documentation.{{Cite web|url = http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russian-justice-ministry-to-ban-election-monitor-golos/559275.html|title = Russian Justice Ministry to Ban Election Monitor Golos {{!}} News|website = The Moscow Times| date=11 February 2016 |access-date = 2016-03-02}}

In July 2016, a court ordered the liquidation of Golos within six months due to "serious irremediable breaches of law”. Golos is appealing the decision.{{Cite web|url=http://rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20160829/276741401.html|title=Ban on Golos NGO appealed in Moscow court|last=|first=|date=2016-08-29|website=RAPSI|publisher=|access-date=2016-09-22}}

{{main|Russian Invasion of Ukraine}}

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine Golos has been persecuted by the Russian government due to the anti-war attitude that many members of the movement share. The movement's candidate for the 2024 Russian presidential election, Grigory Melkonyants, has been under strict supervision by Russian authorities, and 14 of his associates had their homes searched across eight different oblasts. Vladimir Yegorov, the party's election coordinator, was arrested for "disobeying the police" during the search of his home.{{cite web |last1=Bailey |first1=Riley |last2=Mappes |first2=Grace |last3=Evans |first3=Angelica |last4=Harward |first4=Christina |last5=Kagan |first5=Frederick W. |title=Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 17, 2023 |url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-august-17-2023 |website=Institute for the Study of War |access-date=18 August 2023}}

From around 2011{{Cite web|url=http://www.enemo.eu/member.htm|year=2011 |website=European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations |title=Member organisations|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110129062558/http://www.enemo.eu/member.htm|archive-date=2011-01-29}} through to 2021, Golos was a member of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO).{{Cite web|url=http://www.enemo.eu/member.htm|title=Members|year=2021 |website=European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802153749/https://www.enemo.eu/en/members/members|archive-date=2021-08-02}}{{cite web |website=European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations |title=Members|url=https://enemo.org/members|year=2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127194409/https://enemo.org/members|archive-date=2022-11-27|url-status=live}} {{As of|2016}}, it is a member of the European Platform for Democratic Elections (epde) an association of election monitors in Eastern Europe.{{Cite web|url=http://www.epde.org/en/about-us.html|title=About us - European Platform for Democratic Elections|website=www.epde.org|access-date=2016-09-22}}

After its suspension in 2013, Golos reorganized as a civil movement. It consists of independent organizations such as Golos-Povolzhye (located in Samara) and Golos-Ural (located in Chelyabinsk).{{Cite web|url=https://meduza.io/en/feature/2015/07/29/russia-s-most-foreign-agent|title=Russia's most foreign agent: How one human rights group became the country's most harassed organization — Meduza|language=en-EN|access-date=2016-09-22}}

After an appeal by the Presidential Human Rights Council, regional organization of Golos received funds from Russia's presidential administration. In April 2013, the head of Golos Grigory Melkonyants announced that it suspended any foreign funding.{{cite web |title=Russia: Golos Faces 'Foreign Agent' Case |periodical=Sky News |publisher= |url=http://news.sky.com/story/1075980/russia-golos-faces-foreign-agent-case |format= |access-date=2016-04-12 |last= |date= |year= |language= |pages= |quote=}} In addition to the presidential grants, projects of Golos in the past have received donations from the European Commission, USAID{{Cite web|url=https://themoscowtimes.com/news/usaid-exit-to-hit-small-organizations-hard-17960|title=USAID Exit to Hit Small Organizations Hard|date=20 September 2012 |access-date=2016-09-22}} as well as NED.Interregional Civic Foundation in Support of Civil Society Development "GOLOS" ($51,477) "GOLOS will seek to motivate undecided or apathetic voters to participate in the elections and will monitor the electoral process." {{cite web|url=http://www.ned.org/publications/annual-reports/2011-annual-report/eurasia/russia |title=2011 Annual Report |access-date=2016-09-22 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118073449/http://www.ned.org/publications/annual-reports/2011-annual-report/eurasia/russia |archivedate=January 18, 2013 }}, ned.org.

On 30 November 2011 the board of the "Memorial International Society" supported GOLOS against attacks from pro-Kremlin media:{{cite news |title=Грани.Ру {{!}} Александр Черкасов: В поддержку Ассоциации «Голос» |trans-title=Alexander Cherkasov: In support of the "Voice (Golos)" Association |date=30 November 2011 |url=http://grani.ru/blogs/free/entries/193540.html |access-date=18 February 2025 |work=graniru.org Правление Международного общества «Мемориал» (Board of the "Memorial" International Society) |lang=ru}}

{{quote|The article published by "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" about this respected organization is no different from the Soviet writings against Andrei Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. ... The main KGB-styled complaint is simple: the organization receives money from foreign organizations and thus leads subversion. The same claim against the non-governmental organizations was voiced in a very rude manner and in a speech at the congress of Putin's "United Russia". ... We express our support and respect of the GOLOS Association and anyone who strives to make to reduce the number of possible fraud in the upcoming elections.}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101215110924/http://www.code.golos.org/ Electoral Code of the Russian Federation], proposed and developed by GOLOS.
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr983sORe3M#! NTV journalists at GOLOS headquarters on November 28, 2011]

{{Authority control}}

Category:Election and voting-related organizations

Category:Elections in Russia

Category:Non-profit organizations listed in Russia as foreign agents

Category:Unregistered public associations listed in Russia as foreign agents