[JURIST Europe] A Russian bill designed to increase state control [JURIST report] over non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by requiring them to register with a governmental commission has draw sharp criticism from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile] as troubling to the US government "at all levels." Rice, speaking in Ukraine Wednesday, warned that freely-operating NGOs were necessary to ensuring stable democracy in the modern world and were a vital part of seeing growth and development in Russia. The Russian bill has several more readings to undergo before it will be sent to the upper house of the Russian Parliament and then presented to President Vladimir Putin for signing into law. Putin has already called for some amendments to be made [JURIST report] to the bill. Read the official transcript of Rice's remarks. MosNews.com has local coverage.

D. Wes Rist is Bureau Chief for JURIST Europe, reporting European legal news from a European perspective. He is based in the UK.