Abstract
This paper identifies a growing trend of the adoption of restrictive laws regulating establishment and operation of NGOs in Azerbaijan, Belarus and the Russian Federation. Broad and vague provisions often provide the authorities with a possibility to misapply and arbitrarily abuse the laws, often resulting in severe consequences on the right to freedom of association. Therefore, it seeks to analyze the permissibility of restrictions on freedom of association provided by international human rights standards and the legality of means taken by governments to restrict the work of human rights NGOs.