OVD-Info was recognized as a foreign agent. What's next?

English version OVD-Info was recognized as a foreign agent. What’s next?

We perceive what happened as an act of political pressure on OVD-Info. Inclusion in the register occurred against the backdrop of a large public campaign for the abolition of legislation on foreign agents, which was initiated, among other things, by OVD-Info and which has already been joined by 229 institutions and more than 140 thousand people across the country. By the way, at the same time, the register of media - “foreign agents” was replenished with 24 positions at once: the founder of “Mediazone”, the human rights project “Zone of Law” and 22 “individuals”, most of whom are coordinators of the “Voice” movement, were added there. Two more non-profit organizations - from Nizhny Novgorod and Ivanovo - have been added to the register of non-profit foreign agents.

Inclusion in the register did not come as a surprise to us. For almost ten years now, we have been writing every day about politically motivated persecution, and it is difficult to surprise us. Even more so now: we see what the weather is like outside the window and how, one after another, independent media, journalists and civil initiatives are recognized as foreign agents.

OVD-Info is an independent project. This means that we do not depend on any structures, be it political movements or international foundations. We are not "foreign agents". We are not agents - we do not carry out anyone's orders and do not obey anyone's will. We are not foreign - we are probably the most popular human rights project in Russia: the only ones on whom OVD-Info depends are hundreds of thousands of citizens who support us with donations, reposts, volunteering and just kind words.

The authorities apparently consider our project hostile. But we do not fight either with the authorities or for power - we defend the right of citizens to freedom of assembly. We seek state compliance with the basic rights guaranteed to all Russian citizens by our Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. And we are confident that no state is capable of sustainable development without protecting the rights of its citizens. This is obvious not only to a conventional liberal, but also to any statist - in fact, we have always worked and continue to work with “state human rights protection” represented by the office of the federal Commissioner for Human Rights, the offices of regional commissioners and members of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation.

The topic of protests and the political views of their participants are not important to us; it is important to us that all Russian citizens have the right to freedom of assembly. That is why for us independence means, among other things, independence from any political parties and civil initiatives. That is why we protect everyone who faces a violation of their right to public actions - both the left and the right, both the opposition and the pro-government, and Navalny’s supporters, and activists of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and journalists of independent publications, and journalists from Russia Today.

But we see that state thinking and concern for the rights of citizens are not about the current government. On the contrary: those who work to develop our civil society and truly contribute to strengthening the state are declared enemies, foreign agents.

We are confident that the campaign launched by the authorities against civil initiatives and the media is disastrous not only for Russian civil society, but also for the state itself. But first of all, this campaign will hit people: in the case of the media, their readers, who risk being left without alternative sources of information, and in the case of human rights projects, those who face violations of their rights and may find themselves alone with the system.

The status of a foreign agent is not a “quality mark”, it is a black mark: we are talking not only and not so much about labels and markings or additional reporting, the whole point is in the legislation itself, which allows you to first throw a lasso over any objectionable initiative, and then arbitrarily delay it: since 2012, when the first version of foreign agency laws appeared, the responsibilities of organizations included in this register are constantly expanding, and their opportunities are narrowing. In fact, any “foreign agent” organization can be forcibly liquidated at any time, and its leaders can be arrested. Recently, the same sword of Damocles has been hanging over all unwanted people who may be recognized as “foreign agents” in their personal capacity - in fact, this is a “wolf ticket”, practically incompatible with either professional or personal life.

What are we going to do about this?

First and foremost: OVD-Info will continue to work as it did. Due to the new circumstances, it will be more difficult for us (for starters, we will probably have to hang a stupid sign on the site with that same “black mark”), but society’s need for us has not gone away: information still protects and people are still not must remain alone with the system.

Second: we will challenge the inclusion of our project in the register of foreign agents. We have little hope of a quick victory in the Russian courts, but we believe that sooner or later justice will prevail in the European Court of Human Rights.

Third: we call for solidarity with all initiatives, media and journalists who have been subjected to similar attacks in recent months. We will demand with increased zeal the repeal of the legislation on foreign agents and urge you to also join this campaign - first, sign our petition . It is also important to support those who face government pressure. On this site you can choose who you want to support with rubles - for now, the status of a foreign agent does not impose any additional risks on donors and beneficiaries.