Moscow – Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a package of controversial new laws that give the government more powers to label individuals and organizations as “foreign agents” and introduce a series of new restrictions on media organizations.
Sputnik / Mikhail Klimentyev / Kremlin
The new laws extend the Foreign Agent legislation passed in 2012, allowing authorities to apply the label to human rights organizations and other organizations that receive funding from outside Russia. In recent years it has led to the closure of the Russian offices of some prominent non-governmental organizations, legal proceedings and fines. The legislation was updated last year to make it applicable to individuals, including journalists and bloggers.
The amendments signed by the president on Wednesday broaden the parameters under which a person or entity can be officially considered “a foreign agent” in Russia, a term with negative connotations that dates back to the Cold War period.
“Foreign agents”
By law, Russian or foreign citizens who receive aid from abroad and engage in political activities “in the interest of a foreign state” must register as foreign agents.
Critics of the legislation point out that the legal definition of “political activity” is extremely broad, including, for example, following elections, expressing opinions on state policy – including through commentary on social media – and participating in meetings.
The definition gives authorities leeway to enforce the law against almost any vote of dissent ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections.
Amnesty International condemned the bill last month, warning it was a sign of “a new witch hunt” in Russia.
“It demonstrates the belief of the Russian authorities that civil society actors are destructive” agents of the West “bent on destabilizing the government,” said Natalia Prilutskaya, Amnesty International Russia investigator. “The Russian authorities have already financially starved civil society and forced many organizations to shut down. Now they continue to demonize individual activists.”
Under the comprehensive law, foreign journalists can be added to the official list of “foreign agents” if government officials decide they have done something “incompatible with the professional activities of a journalist.”
“Foreign agents” are subject to restrictions, including providing financial reports on their activities and identifying themselves in publications in Russia. A separate bill signed by Putin on Wednesday imposes penalties ranging from fines to five years in prison for designated foreign agents who fail to record or report their activities as required.
Lawmaker Vasily Piskarev, a co-sponsor of the bill, defended the initiative, stressing the need to “protect the sovereignty of the Russian Federation and prevent interference in the internal affairs of our state”.
Earlier this week, the Justice Department added a prominent organization in support Russian victims of domestic violence, Nasiliu.Net, added to the list of “foreign agents”, sparking outrage among rights activists. The ministry also added five people, including veteran rights activist Lev Ponomaryov, 79, a longtime critic of Putin, to the list of foreign media agents, along with four others, including a journalist for Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.
Limit the press, and everyone else
Putin closed the year by signing dozens more bills on Wednesday, many of which are expected to further consolidate his rule. One of them grants Russian regulators the power to completely or partially block internet platforms that “discriminate” state media.
The law’s supporters cited complaints from state-affiliated media about Facebook, Twitter and YouTube’s handling of bias. Twitter is currently labeling some Russian media as “state media,” which has been criticized by officials in Moscow. YouTube blocked some pro-Kremlin channels this year, a move that Russian authorities deride as “an act of censorship.”
The bill’s authors said it targeted foreign social networks, but it could also be used against Russian platforms.
Another law passed by the president prohibits political gatherings near emergency services buildings, such as police stations or intelligence services buildings.
Sharing personal data or information about the work of intelligence officials or law enforcement agencies is now a criminal offense – an initiative seen as a response to recent media investigation led by the Bellingcat organization, which used leaked data to reveal the names, photos and telephone numbers of FSB officials allegedly involved in the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.