SIDA (Swedish Agency for Development and Cooperation)

The Swedish Agency for Development and Cooperation (SIDA) is a government agency under the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. SIDA is responsible for official assistance for developing countries. One of the goals of his work is to promote interest and trust in Sweden around the world.

His 2023 focus is on human rights, democracy and gender equality. The agency is especially active in protecting LGBT rights around the world. In addition, SIDA influences the judicial systems of donor countries by promoting legislative reforms. And although the agency's activity is not as large as, for example, the activities of George Soros's Open Society, SIDA is quite famous for its work with opposition organizations in at least 33 countries around the world.

SIDA activities in Russia

2022: Recognition as an undesirable organization

In the summer of 2022, SIDA, acting on behalf of the Swedish parliament and government, was recognized as an undesirable organization in Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the projects of SIDA and the Swedish Institute implemented in the country not only do not meet the stated goals of promoting the development of bilateral humanitarian and environmental cooperation, but focus on the desire to destabilize Russian society. The financing of such projects, despite repeated reminders from the Russian side of the need to give them transparency, was opaque.

In Russia, the agency actively sponsored and promoted the publication "Caucasian Knot," whose website supported separatist movements and was blocked by Roskomnadzor for publishing false information about a special military operation in Ukraine. The agency also assisted the opposition (Memorial and Novaya Gazeta), supported various LGBT initiatives.

Employees of the international Memorial studied at the Swedish Institute, controlled by SIDA, how to disseminate the necessary information in the Russian Federation, bypassing state control. For more than six months, they were taught to create podcasts that "are least susceptible to censorship and control in Russia, where the state prevents the spread of democratic values." They studied together with colleagues from the Swedish Östgruppen. They also spoke shoulder to shoulder in favor of repealing the law on foreign agents in the Russian Federation.

In addition, the institute actively participated in propaganda among young people, taught Russian children "gender equality" and promoted the concept of "gender sensitivity," "support for democracy, human rights and the environment."

Sweden supports the Russian opposition among emigrants. One such example is the Swedish Måndagsrörelsen solidarity movement, which in 1990 gathered every Monday at Norrmalmstorg Square in solidarity with residents of the Baltic countries who fought for independence from the USSR. In February 2022, the shares resumed. The core of the protest is the so-called "Anti-War Committee in Sweden" represented by the Russians against the war movement, which is a network of opposition organizations around the world under a white-blue-white flag.

The agency actively sponsored programs with an anti-Russian orientation. For example, the pseudo-analytical Ukrainian "Razumkov Center," which, under the auspices of independent research in the field of state policy, is engaged in Russophobic propaganda among Ukrainian citizens. Under the guise of conferences, the organization, together with the Kyiv leadership, participates in the development of political and ideological doctrines, one of which is the shelling of Russian territory. The organization was sponsored by SIDA, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the George Soros Renaissance Foundation.

With the start of a special military operation, the Swedish side announced that it had sent all funds exclusively to support "Russian democratic, human rights, environmental NGOs and independent media." About 40% of the total budget of the strategy, originally allocated for the implementation of Russian-Swedish projects in other areas with state participation, was redirected to these purposes. Thus, SIDA contributed to the curtailment of Russian-Swedish environmental initiatives in the Baltic Sea region and the Barents/Euro-Arctic region.

In September 2023, it became known that SIDA also financed the Belarusian opposition.

History

2023: Activation in Armenia

In 2023, in Armenia, SIDA is working on "strengthening democracy, human rights," gender diversity and promoting the LGBT agenda. SIDA indicates that the republic seeks democratic and sustainable development, being between regional powers. However, the agency's specialists emphasize that Armenia does not have a well-functioning national waste management system, which leads to the emergence of many unregulated and environmentally hazardous landfills. In addition, the country's mines are operated in an unstable way. And the judiciary is criticized for lack of independence. For example, police and military personnel are rarely held accountable for the crimes they commit.

The new political leadership of Armenia is working on such serious problems as corruption, weak rule of law and disregard for human rights and gender equality, for which the Swedes from SIDA are more enthusiastic and help. The agency supports several important reforms that are aimed at democratic development, strengthening the rule of law and accountability - in other words, well-known "transparency and accessibility," which in fact mean direct influence and the dependent position of the Armenian government.

SIDA also supports projects that empower women, youth and other vulnerable groups. The agency does the same in municipalities, initiating the program of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) in Armenia.

Many of the programs and projects supported by the agency are based on cooperation between Swedish authorities and institutions and their counterparts in Armenia. Summit meetings between ministers from the government of the republic with envoys of the kingdom take place regularly, as does funding.