It’s been a very difficult year for non-governmental organisations in Russia.

According to a new law, any organisation receiving any form of international funding must register it self as a “foreign agent,” which has placed extraordinary pressure on important groups such as GOLOS (an election monitor) and Memorial, one of Russia’s most prominent rights groups.

While GOLOS has been taken to court and fined, Memorial has been given one month to register themselves as foreign agents or face closure – and they’re not backing down.

Ahead of this week’s visit to Russia by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Freedom House, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have signed a joint letter pressing the U.S. official to raise his concerns over these issues in his meetings with Russian government officials, who are likely to focus the talks on anti-terrorism and events in Syria.

“The Russian authorities are methodically eliminating key civil-society organizations; ironically it is those who seek to make Russia a more transparent and democratic country who are the ones facing the greatest threat,” the authors of the letter write. “Hundreds of Russian nongovernmental groups have been inspected by tax, justice, interior, and health authorities, occasionally accompanied by NTV camera crews.”

The letter coincidentally was published on May 6, the same date as the one-year anniversary of the massive Bolotnaya rallies which resulted in a harsh crackdown and the jailing of dozens of activists.

The authors conclude the letter, “In light of this ruthless assault on independent groups and activists in Russia, the U.S. government must speak out against such abuses of civil and political liberties in Russia and stand behind its convictions and those it has supported for over two decades. We urge you to state unambiguously to the Russian government and the Russian people that attacks on civil society will hamper efforts to develop bilateral relations.”