The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation entered the company of cartoonist Yolkin in the register of foreign agents

On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Justice added Yolkin Karton LLC to the list of so-called foreign agents.

This legal entity belongs to cartoonist Sergey Yolkin. He himself was entered into the register of foreign agents in April 2022.

Yolkin has been engaged in political caricature since 1999, is one of the most famous Russian artists of this genre and the winner of many Russian and international competitions. His works were published in many publications, including Vedomosti, The Moscow Times, Deutsche Welle. Yolkin has been cooperating with Radio Liberty for many years.

Soon after the start of the war in Ukraine, Yolkin left Russia.

According to Russian laws, a person included in the list of foreign agents must register as a legal entity for reporting on his financial activities. These enterprises, as related to foreign agents, are also entered in the register.

• Legislation on foreign agents in Russia appeared in 2012. The law allowed the Ministry of Justice to recognize non-profit organizations as foreign 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 individuals as mass media 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.