Russia has labeled Germany’s Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is linked to the Social Democratic Party (SPD), an “undesirable organization”, effectively banning it from continuing to operate in Moscow.

As Der Spiegel magazine reports, according to the Russian Ministry of Justice, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation is now on a “blacklist” of the Russian government, as is the German Society for East European Studies (DGO), which publishes the monthly magazine Osteuropa in Berlin.

The Kremlin had suspended cooperation programs with the branches of the foundations of the SPD, the Christian Democratic Party (CDU), the Greens and the Liberals (FDP) in Moscow shortly after the start of the offensive in Ukraine. Until now, however, only the “green” Heinrich Bell foundation had been officially labeled “undesirable”.

The Russian law (from 2015) stipulates that “undesirable organizations” must cease their operations in Russia, as well as freeze their accounts and any assets in the country, and their offices must be closed. In addition, Russian citizens risk criminal prosecution if they come into contact with these entities. The relevant registry of the Russian Ministry of Justice includes about 150 organizations from Germany, the US and other countries, while the pressure against them has increased sharply in the last two years.