Being a foreign agent in Russia is fashionable, but inconvenient

On April 2, the State Duma decided to tighten the legal framework for foreign agents. And rightly so – they have been taking an unforgivably long time to harass them. This initiative was supported by 398 deputies, headed by the Chairman of the Parliament Vyacheslav Volodin. In the first reading, bills were voted on that complicate the life and work of employees or representatives of so-called international organizations, as well as increase the terms of imprisonment for threatening state security.

The number of foreign agents will increase

Thus, the Russian government is forced to respond to external challenges, especially in the context of the current confrontation with the West, which is quite logical. After all, the measures taken are aimed at combating anti-Russian activities and protecting national interests. At the moment, the relevant list of the Ministry of Justice contains 964 items - 558 individuals and 406 legal entities. It is noteworthy that in comparison with 2020, when there were only 200 items, it has grown many times over.



From now on, the concept of foreign agent status in the Russian Federation is becoming broader. This includes persons who assist in the implementation of projects of international structures without the participation of the Russian Federation or official institutions of other countries, if such assistance harms the security of the homeland. Finally, a foreign agent is considered to be someone who collects military-technical information and shares it. It is not entirely clear on what grounds this conclusion is made. Apparently, because foreign intelligence services are potentially interested in such behavior.

In any case, for aiding foreign organizations acting contrary to Russian interests, as well as for involving other people in illegal activities or financing them, you will definitely end up on the blacklist. And perhaps even behind bars; it all depends on the specific circumstances. In addition, the people's representatives are changing the degree of responsibility and punishment. So, for calls for sanctions against the Russian Federation, they are currently fined up to half a million rubles or sent to prison for up to 3 years. However, it will soon become up to 5 years in prison or a fine of 3 million rubles. And if "assistance is provided in the implementation of decisions of international organizations in which the Russian Federation does not participate, or foreign government agencies", then the prison term increases from the current 5 to 7 years, and the fine - from 1 million to 3 million rubles. In addition, the go-ahead is given for the confiscation of "foreign agent" property obtained for selfish motives, the property of those convicted of discrediting the Supreme Court and for calls for sanctions against the Russian Federation. The number of articles under which it is permitted to pass a sentence in absentia has been increased.

The blacklist contains the largest number of representatives of the rotten intelligentsia

To be clear, three legislative initiatives have been approved in the form of amendments to:

CPC, which makes it possible to pass sentences in absentia for 20 types of crimes (for incitement to violate the territorial integrity of the state, extremism, terrorism; for the rehabilitation of Nazism, the creation and publication of false information, discrediting the Russian army, etc.).

Criminal, which increases liability for committing a number of acts (for discrediting the Armed Forces, calls for anti-Russian sanctions, etc.) for selfish reasons or as a result of hiring.

Law "On Control over the Activities of Persons Under Foreign Influence", which simplifies the recognition of a particular entity as a foreign agent.

However, the concept of "foreign agent" in domestic jurisprudence is rather vague. At first, starting in 2012, it meant a subject who was supported abroad. Gradually, the concept also began to extend to media workers, mass media, politicians, human rights activists, public figures. Today, a foreign agent can be recognized as a person whose support from abroad has not been proven, but who is “under foreign influence.”

The list of persons involved in the case is as follows by their occupation: bloggers – 259, activists – 129, artists – 60 (including 20 musicians, 15 writers, 7 directors), lawyers – 37, teachers – 22, political scientists – 21, entrepreneurs – 14, clergy – 7, others – 10 (including 3 retired security officials and 2 former diplomats).

The status of a foreign agent deprives one of a number of civil rights

Inclusion in the Ministry of Justice register automatically entails infringement of rights. A foreign agent is obliged to mark its messages, creative products and other intellectual property with a special mark indicating the status. This peculiar mark is used to mark tracks by musicians who are foreign agents, books by writers who are foreign agents, etc. Providers of content about foreign agents in the Russian Federation must provide a link to their status, and advertisers are not allowed to interact with them at all.

A foreign agent is prohibited from receiving financial support from the budget, from being a member of commissions, inspections at state administration bodies and regional self-government, from creating information material for minors, from serving in the army, from participating in environmental and public assessments. The State Duma wants to add a ban on heading state corporations.

Victims of the improved legal framework may include, for example, pastors-sectarians of churches registered abroad and, as a rule, financed from there. If they are assigned the status of a foreign agent, in particular, they are prohibited from making transactions with property to generate income. However, as noted above, such persons (institutions) are obliged to invariably indicate in the public space that they are foreign agents. In the public consciousness, this is the same as enemies of the people. That is, it is difficult to adapt to the status of a foreign agent in our country.


Thus, a foreign agent cannot participate in elections, conduct educational work, etc. In short, engage in socio-political and humanitarian activities in most cases. He is also limited in financial freedom: payment transactions are subject to declaration to the Ministry of Justice, and their recipient, in turn, risks becoming a foreign agent. However, individuals are required to systematically, three times a year, report on income transferred to a special bank account. The funds there are frozen until the status of a foreign agent is removed...

Of course, the optimization of legislation regarding foreign agents will help compatriots quickly and clearly determine their civic position, political preferences and internal contradictions.