Public Associations with State Participation: Institutionalization Features in the Russian Federation

The article examines the legal aspects of institutionalizing public associations established with the participation of the Russian state, analyzing their legal nature, and role in the relationship between the state and the “third sector”. It examines the historical development of Russian legislation in this field, its unique national characteristics, and recent regulatory changes. The study summarizes the practical aspects of registering such associations in the Ministry of Justice’s Public Associations Registry, including state involvement in their formation and activities, such as initiation, establishment, governance representation, and support measures. A comparative analysis of legislation and enforcement practices across post-Soviet republics identifies three approaches to institutionalizing state-involved associations: 1) prohibiting state participation in their creation (The Republic of Kazakhstan); 2) integrating them into state-structures as form of non-profit organization (The Republic of Belarus); 3) maintaining their public association status while allowing state participation in their formation and goal-setting (The Russian Federation). The article also examines debates in Russian legal scholarship regarding the legal nature of state-affiliated public associations. The authors argue for the necessity of a federal law systematically regulating their unique legal status. They propose that such associations’ mobilizing function – distinguishing them from both traditional public associations and socially oriented non-profits – should be central to future legislation. Adopting such a law could resolve inconsistences in their registration and classification within the Registry of Public Associations.

Keywords: public authority system; public associations; non-profit organizations; public associations with state involvement; public-state associations; state-public associations