In Russia, on 10 January, President Putin signed a bill imposing new restrictions on NGOs. The bill, justified as necessary to fight terrorism and extremism, will come into force on 17 April, three months after it was published in the official journal. In Kyrgyzstan, on 24 January, the Justice Minister instructed his ministry’s registration department to investigate all foreign-funded NGOs operating in Kyrgyzstan, citing the need to fight religious extremism.