The Kremlin's new wave of press freedom repression
In Russia, the government discredits, humiliates, and suffocates independent voices that stand critical against the intolerant regime of President Vladimir Putin. Russia's government has taken another step to stifle press freedom by imposing a law that identifies media organizations not controlled by the Kremlin as "foreign agents." Putin's regime thus deemed all journalists and media organizations on this list to be undesirable.
In the past, this practice by the Russian government was restricted to targeting specific media organizations or journalists to discourage others from exercising their free speech and potentially criticizing the government. Recent Russian government efforts to list critical voices as "foreign agents" have been extended to include more journalists, media, and civil society actors ahead of key elections next month.
Analysts and observers of the situation in Russia estimate that listing them as "undesirable" is the first step of the Kremlin's strategy to shut down these media organizations. When media are listed as foreign agents, they risk insolvency because there are no resources, as very few with money and power dare associate themselves with government-opposed groups.
According to the Moscow Times, a journalist in Russia can be listed as a foreign agent if:
a journalist wins an international competition, and their trip to receive the award is paid for (by the organizers)
a journalist has friends and relatives living abroad who have transferred a monetary gift to them for their birthday
a journalist went to an international conference where their accommodation was paid for by the organizers
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that the country's most prominent independent TV channel (Dozhd), along with the publisher and several employees of an independent investigative news website (IStories) that is based in Latvia, was listed as "foreign agents." The Kremlin's "black list" also includes several independent media organizations. Washington Post reports that the list includes current Time, Meduza, VTimes, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Insider, TV Rain, and Proekt.
Individuals and outlets on this list are forced to disclose that foreign agents generate their published materials in their publications and social media posts. They could face heavy fines and up to two years in prison if found in violation. According to news reports, eight journalists protesting against the foreign agent registration law were arrested by Russian police in Moscow.
Every journalist in Russia is a potential "foreign agent," and any media outlet critical of the government risks being silenced financially cut off, and closed down.
