MOSCOW, April 13 (RAPSI) – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Monday instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to take steps to provide assistance to socially-oriented non-governmental (NGOs) organizations helping citizens amid the pandemic by May 15, the Presidential press-service informs.

Earlier, the President approved a list of instructions developed in the result of a meeting with representatives of the business community, which took place on March 26.

Some time ago, the members of the Civic Chamber have forwarded a number of proposals on measures to be undertaken in order to assist socially-oriented NGOs affected by the coronavirus pandemic to the government.

The community activists have been working on urging those responsible to provide to NGOs aid similar to that aimed at helping small and medium-sized businesses for two or three weeks; now they welcome the instructions given by the President to the government, and the fact that the Cabinet Chair Mikhail Mishustin vested the Ministry of Economic Development with the task to develop such supportive measures, since charities and nonprofit organizations suffer from the pandemic not less than businesses, according to the Chair of the Civic Chamber commission on development of noncommercial sector Elena Topoleva-Soldunova.

All NGOs need support, the Civic Chamber member believes; nevertheless, organizations providing community services amid the pandemic need assistance most urgently, especially charities suffering because of a sharp decline in donations. The measures aimed at NGOs, Topoleva-Soldunova hopes, will be similar to those provided to businesses and include lower insurance payments, a moratorium on inspections, a grace rent period.