The Ministry of Justice has once again added to the register of “foreign agents”. Updates are published on the department's website.
The register included:
- editor of the Vladimir telegram channel “Resonance” Danil Belyakov,
- journalist Alexey Kovalev,
- priest of the Apostolic Orthodox Church Andrey Lvov,
- rapper Legalize (Andrey Menshikov),
- media project “Country and World. Sakharov Review",
- project "Transparency International-Russia in exile".
According to the Ministry of Justice, they all took part in creating false information about the decisions of the Russian authorities and opposed the invasion of Ukraine. In addition, all people included in the register live outside of Russia.
- The legislation on “foreign agents” is becoming stricter every year. On December 1, 2022, the law “On control over the activities of persons under foreign influence” came into force, as well as numerous legislative amendments to “foreign agency” regulation. You can read about who is recognized as “foreign agents” and on what grounds, what restrictions these people and organizations face, as well as what risks those who interact with them bear in our report .
- In December 2022, Vladimir Putin also signed a law on imprisonment for “foreign agents” who were brought to justice twice in a year under an administrative article for violating the procedure for the activities of a “foreign agent” (Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code). More than 20 cases have already been opened under the criminal article of evading the duties of a “foreign agent” (Part 2 of Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code): for example, rapper Oksimiron and femme activist Daria Serenko were put on the wanted list.
- In the fall of 2021, OVD-Info launched the Inoteka project. We explore the practice of applying laws on “foreign agents”, talk about their impact on civil society and specific people, initiate discussions with experts and suggest ways of possible changes. In December 2021, together with the Center for the Protection of Media Rights, we began to provide legal support to people and organizations that were included in the registers of “foreign agents.”
- As of January 18, 2024, there are 756 “foreign agents” in the register, including individuals and organizations. Starting from 2022, the list is growing more actively: in 2021, 110 individuals and projects became “foreign agents”, in 2022 - 188, and in 2023 - already 227. If previously the instrument of recognition as a “foreign agent” was primarily aimed at journalists , media and human rights activists, now this status has extended to representatives of other spheres. The list of reasons for inclusion in the register has also expanded : the Ministry of Justice officially admits that it uses the law to persecute people who speak out against the war. As of January 11, 2024, at least 199 “foreign agents” have been removed from the registers—however, their personal data will remain on the list even after removal.