Russia's Justice Ministry, Attorney General, and Interior Ministry will consider adding four new nonprofit organizations to the county's so-called “undesirables” list, responding to a petition from the Federation Assembly (the upper house of the parliament).

According to the news agency RIA, Russian officials are reviewing for inclusion on the list the World Congress of Ukrainians, the Ukrainian Global Coordination Council, and the Crimean Human Rights Field Mission. Another organization under consideration is the International Republican Institute, an American nonprofit organization chaired by US Senator John McCain.

Last summer, Russia's Senator drafted an official “patriotic stop list” naming organizations considered to pose a threat to Russian interests. The list serves as a recommended registry for including organizations on the official “undesirable organizations” list.

According to the “undesirables” law, foreign and international organizations can be declared “undesirable” or “presenting a threat to the basic constitutional order of the Russian Federation, its defense capability, or its state security.”

The Justice Ministry currently blacklists five undesirable groups: the National Endowment for Democracy, the OSI Assistance Foundation, the Open Society Foundation, the US-Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law, and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

If an organization falls under this category, it will be forced to shut down and will be forbidden from holding public events and from possessing or distributing promotional materials, including through the media. Employees of “undesirables” may face criminal proceedings if they fail to comply with orders, and heads of the organizations can face prison sentences of up to 6 years.