Migration authorities in the Sakhalin Region in Russia’s Far East have fined a lecturer from the United States over violation of Russia’s migration laws, a regional migration official told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
Kevin Puleo arrived in Russia on May 21 on an invitation by the U.S. Consulate General in Vladivostok to make presentations in Vladivostok and Sakhalin about volunteerism in the United States.
“The decision to issue a fine in the amount of 3,000 rubles (about $100) has been made because of a discrepancy between his [Puleo’s] stated purpose of the visit and his actual activities,” the official said.
According to Sakhalin’s Migration Office, Puleo entered Russia on a tourist visa, which does not allow lecturing or teaching activities. However, the American volunteerism activist gave lectures on the subject at an educational institution in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
The authorities have also received information about his intent to meet with local opposition leaders to lecture them on civil campaigning techniques.
Puleo is a National Regional Director at Organizing for America (OFA), a community organizing project founded in 2009 to mobilize supporters in favor of U.S. President Barack Obama’s legislative priorities.