On the evening of June 16, the Russian Ministry of Justice added five people and two organizations to the list of foreign agents. This was reported on the ministry’s website.
The register included:
economist Sergei Aleksashenko*; documentary filmmaker Vitaly Mansky*; journalist Sever.Realii* Yulia Paramonova*; Radio Liberty* journalist Svetlana Prokopiev*; politician Lev Shlosberg*; the VESMA* information portal (affiliated persons: Andrey Grishin, Egor Lynov, Timur Zagitov); Free Yakutia Foundation*.
The agency last updated the register on June 2. Then political scientist Dmitry Oreshkin*, journalist Roman Super*, historian Maxim Kuzakhmetov*, as well as publications Proekt* and Yarnovosti* were recognized as foreign agents.
The concept of “foreign agent” was introduced into Russian law after the 2012 protests, in relation to non-profit organizations (NPOs) engaged in political activities and receiving foreign funding.
Subsequently, this status began to be granted to natural persons, legal persons and unregistered organizations. In 2022, the law was strengthened, prohibiting citizens and registered organizations from teaching and producing information products, organizing public events, and joining election commissions. In addition, the criteria for recognition as a foreign agent have changed – the opinion of the Ministry of Justice on “foreign influence” has become sufficient for this.
From the end of 2022, instead of four different lists of foreign agents, the Ministry of Justice maintains a single register, which already includes more than 600 people and organizations.
Some natural and legal persons on the list of foreign agents have tried to challenge the decision of the Ministry of Justice in court, but so far no one has succeeded. Nevertheless, lawyers believe that going to court, even in the absence of positive decisions in such cases over the past year, is not without sense.
In particular, Galina Arapova*, director of the Center for the Protection of Media Rights*, is convinced that it is important to document your disagreement with the decision of the state represented by the Ministry of Justice at the legal level. Lawyer Ivan Pavlov*, who himself tried to challenge the decision to put him on the list of foreign agents, is convinced that challenging the listing of a person or an organization on the register can have meaning for future litigation.
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