The Ministry of Justice named Yana Troyanova and Hryhoriy Sverdlin as foreign agents
On Friday, the Ministry of Justice of Russia declared actress Yana Troyanova a so-called foreign agent. In her interviews, she repeatedly spoke out against Russia’s war in Ukraine.
In addition to her, the list was filled by the journalist, creator of the website “Proverono.Media” Ilya Ber, the coordinator of the “Nochlezhka” and “Go to the forest” projects Hryhory Sverdlin and the political scientist living in Prague Alexander Morozov.
Hidemy is recognized as “foreign agent” organization. network Ltd. – the developer of the VPN-service “HideMy.name”, which twice successfully challenged the blocking in Russian courts, LLC “Command Against Torture” and the Amsterdam-based publication The Moscow Times.
In addition, the registry includes journalist Marat Nikandrov, who himself asked the agency to recognize himself as an agent.
- Legislation on foreign agents in Russia appeared in 2012. The law allowed the Ministry of Justice to recognize non-profit organizations as agents if they receive funding from abroad and engage in political activity. The criteria by which such activity is determined are not clearly defined in the law, which allows the authorities to prosecute organizations working in the fields of education, culture, health care, ecology, and protection of human rights.
- Subsequently, it became possible to recognize mass media and individuals as foreign agents, including those who do not receive foreign funding, but “are under foreign influence.” Russian legislation does not specify what exactly should be considered foreign influence.
