Russia opens first criminal case for failure to comply with ‘foreign agent’ requirements

The Investigative Committee of the Tver region has opened a criminal case for failure to comply with the requirements for “foreign agents” against Artyom Vazhenkov, coordinator of the election monitoring organization Golos and host of the YouTube channel Avtozak LIVE.

“This was expected. I’m the first to have a criminal case opened against them. It seems to me that it’s connected, in part, to the fact that I’m actively working on issues around the existence of such a shameful phenomenon as foreign agents in the Russian Federation,” Vazhenkov said of the situation.

Vazhenkov was first named a “foreign agent” in September 2021, and subsequently left Russia.