{"id":36817,"date":"2025-10-23T17:14:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T14:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/?p=36817"},"modified":"2025-10-23T17:14:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T14:14:31","slug":"how-the-kremlins-foreign-agents-law-strangled-freedom-in-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/articles\/how-the-kremlins-foreign-agents-law-strangled-freedom-in-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Kremlin’s ‘Foreign Agents’ Law Strangled Freedom in Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Russia\u2019s law on \u201cforeign agents\u201d has been tightened again, allowing for criminal prosecution after only a single administrative fine. Previously, a criminal case could be preceded by two administrative infringements. This is far from the first and probably not the last change to the notorious law \u2014 the tail of this cat is being cut off piece by piece.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The increasingly onerous requirements have led to the closure of many vital independent media organizations and NGOs, including Russia\u2019s leading domestic violence support center, Nasiliu.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ‘foreign agent’ law gradually deprived us of more than just resources,\u201d said its founder, Anna Rivina.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, we were banned from holding events. Then, from engaging in educational activities. More and more people were afraid to approach us, more and more services refused to help, cutting off access to support for the victims. This circle around our future narrowed, narrowed, narrowed \u2014 until there was no longer any room for work.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In September, Nasiliu.net was cut off from donations from Russia. The law\u2019s growing powers increased pressure on the organization until it was finally strangled.<\/p>\n

Laws against \u201cforeign agents\u201d appeared in Russian legislation at the end of 2012, still within the framework of the Law on Non-Profit Organizations. At that time, two criteria for foreign agents were formulated \u2014 receiving money from abroad and engaging in \u201cpolitical activity.\u201d But this was interpreted so broadly that any public activity fell under it.<\/p>\n

At first, being listed as a \u201cforeign agent\u201d was problematic, but many organizations still continued operating. \u201cAgents\u201d were obliged to preface every publication with a hideously written disclaimer warning about their status. They were also required to file quarterly reports on their activities and finances, especially their use of foreign funds. Legal entities became obligated to conduct an annual audit.<\/p>\n

Much has changed since then \u2014 but nothing has got better. At first, \u201cforeign agents\u201d had to register themselves. When most refused to comply, the Justice Ministry took over. To this day, new names are added to the list almost every Friday.<\/p>\n

Previously, \u201cforeign agents\u201d were divided into categories: legal entities, individuals, media outlets and unregistered associations. The database even specified which foreign country each agent allegedly served. Now, the list is unified and includes organizations, informal groups and private citizens alike.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In 2022, Russia adopted a new law \u2014 \u201cOn Control Over the Activities of Persons Under Foreign Influence.\u201d Its latest tightening, introducing criminal liability after a single administrative offense, comes into force on Oct. 26, 2025. \u201cForeign influence\u201d is defined so broadly here that it includes not only money and property but also any \u201cassistance from abroad\u201d or even attempts at \u201ccoercion, persuasion\u201d or \u201cother methods\u201d of influence.\u201d<\/p>\n

These broad brushstrokes criteria make it possible to target virtually any dissenter, regardless of whether they are an individual or a group of people.<\/p>\n

On the few international platforms where Russia has not yet been expelled, the \u201cforeign agent\u201d law has been consistently condemned. The United Nations has repeatedly called for its repeal, which is unsurprising given that the first organizations persecuted<\/a> under the law were those cooperating with the UN. Their \u201coffense\u201d was submitting alternative reports to the UN Committee Against Torture before the legislation even existed. The Kremlin later applied the law retroactively.<\/p>\n

The reaction of the Russian authorities to this criticism on international platforms is also unchanging: references to an allegedly analogous and even harsher American law and claiming that one can easily leave the register, while falsely asserting that the law merely requires \u201cforeign agents\u201d to inform the public of their status, while freely continuing their work inside Russia.<\/p>\n

The flaws in these arguments have long been evident. There is nothing comparable to the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act; removal from Russia\u2019s register almost always means an organization\u2019s closure; and the notion that the law was simple to comply with is absurd.<\/p>\n

In reality, Article 11 of the law, \u201cRestrictions Associated With the Status of a Foreign Agent,\u201d contains 22 provisions \u2014 all of which collectively strip the designated person or group of basic civil and political rights. They are banned from holding office at any level, from taking part in public councils, taking part in any work connected to elections, organizing public events, working with minors and teaching at public universities.<\/p>\n

These restrictions are the law\u2019s ideological core \u2014 aimed at silencing public expression, curbing civic participation and eliminating independent thought.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But there is also an economic dimension. The law\u2019s limitations on \u201cforeign agents\u201d in environmental monitoring and oversight, for instance, serve the interests of extractive industries and their government allies. The inability of independent environmentalists to conduct expert reviews or public monitoring directly benefits polluters. It particularly harms Indigenous communities, whose lands, livelihoods and languages are being destroyed<\/a> along with the ecosystems<\/a> they depend on.<\/p>\n

The law also imposes severe financial and property restrictions. Those labeled \u201cforeign agents\u201d are barred from receiving state or municipal grants, insuring funds or using simplified taxation. They are prohibited from participating in public procurement, and any income from property sales must be kept in special accounts fully controlled by banks and the state.<\/p>\n

In effect, this means a ban on earning a living in Russia, on inheriting or disposing of property, and on conducting basic financial transactions. Fines \u2014 whether administrative for \u201cviolating the procedure of a foreign agent\u2019s activity\u201d or criminal for \u201cevading obligations\u201d \u2014 are draconian.<\/p>\n

The \u201cforeign agent\u201d label is not the only mechanism of property confiscation. Persecution under \u201cextremism\u201d and \u201cterrorism\u201d articles has a similar effect, as it automatically places individuals on a special register of \u201cextremists and terrorists,\u201d often even before trial. To label a group as an \u201cextremist association,\u201d it is enough for just one member to have been convicted under Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code. The property of all members \u2014 including their sole homes and relatives\u2019 assets \u2014 can then be seized by court order, despite the fact that collective punishment is illegal even under Russian law.<\/p>\n

When defending the \u201cforeign agent\u201d law, Russian officials often focus on its supposed economic fairness. They claim that \u201cagents\u201d criticize Russia only to keep their foreign property or income. At the 2023 Eastern Economic Forum, President Vladimir Putin himself argued that dissidents are motivated by \u201cmaterial concerns,\u201d claiming: \u201cIn order to keep everything, they are required to speak out, to criticize, to denounce \u2026 There are those who sincerely disagree with what the Russian state is doing. But, I repeat, no one prevents them from criticizing while being here. They chose to leave \u2014 that\u2019s their decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

In reality, dissenters are pushed into exile through constant repression, economic strangulation, and the threat of prosecution \u2014 even in absentia.<\/p>\n

From the beginning, the \u201cforeign agent\u201d label has never been neutral. Since 2012, it has served as a mark of shame, implying betrayal or espionage. It has evolved into a legal foundation for stripping entire groups of their rights.<\/p>\n

Together with other repressive statutes \u2014 on \u201cundesirable organizations,\u201d \u201cextremist associations\u201d and \u201cstate treason\u201d \u2014 it has formed a toxic cocktail that poisons the lives of those forced to flee Russia and threatens those who remain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The views expressed in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the position of The Moscow Times.<\/em><\/div>\n
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Olga ABRAMENKO, an expert at the Anti-Discrimination Center \u201cMemorial\u201d <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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First published at the The Moscow Times<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Russia\u2019s law on \u201cforeign agents\u201d has been tightened again, allowing for criminal prosecution after only a single administrative fine. Previously, a criminal case could be preceded by two administrative infringements. This is far from the first and probably not the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":36818,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[173],"strategy_cases":[],"campaign":[],"archive":[],"filter-content":[],"regions":[515],"class_list":["post-36817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-human-rights-en","regions-russia"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",922,576,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents-125x125.png",125,125,true],"medium":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents-300x187.png",300,187,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents-768x480.png",640,400,true],"large":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents-650x406.png",640,400,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",922,576,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",922,576,false],"pub-thumb":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents-220x137.png",220,137,true],"post-thumb":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents-170x170.png",170,170,true],"wcicon":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",48,30,false],"wcsquare":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",300,187,false],"wcsmall":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",250,156,false],"wcstandard":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",550,344,false],"wcbig":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",800,500,false],"wcfixedheightsmall":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",288,180,false],"wcfixedheightmedium":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",480,300,false],"wcfixedheight":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",800,500,false],"wccarouselsmall":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",210,131,false],"wccarousel":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",400,250,false],"wcslider":["https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/forejgnagents.png",800,500,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"

Russia\u2019s law on \u201cforeign agents\u201d has been tightened again, allowing for criminal prosecution after only a single administrative fine. Previously, a criminal case could be preceded by two administrative infringements. This is far from the first and probably not the last change to the notorious law \u2014 the tail of this cat is being cut off piece by piece. The increasingly onerous requirements have led to the closure of many vital independent media organizations and NGOs, including Russia\u2019s leading domestic violence support center, Nasiliu.net. \u201cThe ‘foreign agent’ law gradually deprived us of more than just resources,\u201d said its founder, Anna…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"Articles<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"admin3","url":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/author\/admin3\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36817"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36821,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36817\/revisions\/36821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36817"},{"taxonomy":"strategy_cases","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/strategy_cases?post=36817"},{"taxonomy":"campaign","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campaign?post=36817"},{"taxonomy":"archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archive?post=36817"},{"taxonomy":"filter-content","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/filter-content?post=36817"},{"taxonomy":"regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adcmemorial.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions?post=36817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}