"We should not only involve public organizations [in law-making] but also help civil society become organized," said head of the Public Chamber Yevgeny Velikhov. "In this sense, the situation in Russia is unsatisfactory."
The academic, who presided over the Chamber's first session on January 22, said the lack of a legislative basis for fund-raising hampered charity efforts, and expressed his concern over the situation when non-governmental organizations are linked with security services.
"Anti-espionage efforts are regular work for government bodies, but they should in no way affect the work of NGOs and [the public's] attitude toward them," Velikhov said.
Against the backdrop of an espionage scandal in which British intelligence has been linked to NGOs operating in Russia, Velikhov said public organizations needed financial assistance.
"If their funding needs to be better regulated, then we should provide the necessary assistance to NGOs," he said.
Velikhov added that 500 million rubles ($17.8 million) had already been earmarked by the 2006 federal budget in aid to NGOs.
NGOs that received funding from overseas are thought to have played a major role in the revolutions that have swept former Soviet states in recent years, prompting some Russian politicians to voice concerns that organizations in Russia had similar motives. Parliament passed a bill restricting the operation of NGOs at the end of last year.
The West largely saw the bill as a Kremlin tactic to tighten control over foreign activity in the country and expressed concerns that it could limit democratic freedoms.
