NED · RUSSIA — 94 grants, $14.9M
Key claim: The National Endowment for Democracy is providing $14.9M across 94 active grants in Russia, supporting political prisoners, freedom of information, civic leadership, and historical memory, with most grantee names withheld for safety.
Abstract
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has 94 active grants in RUSSIA totaling $14.9M (public listing as of 2025-07-15). Grantee names are largely withheld for grantee safety (NED duty of care). Sample projects: Supporting Political Prisoners ($39.8K); Supporting Freedom of Information and Accurate Wartime Reporting ($44.9K); Strengthening Capacity for Civic Leaders ($50.0K); Civic Resistance and Historical Memory ($50.0K).
Why this matters
Russia is one of NED’s largest and most sensitive country portfolios, and the $14.9M / 94-grant footprint shows sustained U.S.-funded support for opposition-adjacent civil society under an authoritarian government that has designated NED an ‘undesirable organization.’ The near-total withholding of grantee names — justified on safety grounds — means the pass-through chain goes cold at NED, limiting downstream accountability tracing in this area.