The lower house of Parliament gave preliminary approval to legislation that would require tens of thousands of Russian organizations to register with the Ministry of Justice. It would also impose restrictions on their ability to accept donations or hire foreigners and prohibit foreign organizations from opening branches in Russia...

Although some of the bill's supporters defended it as an effort to bring order to the registration of 450,000 private groups, others have said it was aimed at preventing foreign efforts to support political opposition movements, like the one that swept to power after the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine last fall. The legislation follows sharply worded remarks by President Vladimir V. Putin and the director of the Federal Security Service, the K.G.B's successor, that foreign organizations often undermined Russian interests...