Russian authorities have declared a former presidential candidate, a prominent human rights activist and several others to be “foreign agents.”
Russian authorities on Friday declared a former presidential candidate, a prominent human rights activist and several others “foreign agents,” the latest step in a brutal crackdown on dissidents in Russia that has reached new levels since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.
Russia introduced the term in 2012 after authorities alleged that mass anti-government protests were fuelled by foreign influence, and it has since been used to target non-governmental organisations, media outlets and individual critics of the Kremlin.
The designation comes with additional government scrutiny and is intended to discredit those named.
Ekaterina Duntsova, a former regional councillor who tried to run against President Vladimir Putin in the 2024 election but was ultimately barred from doing so, was also among the candidates nominated on Friday.
Prisoners' rights activist Maria Litvinovich, the Way Home movement and its activist Maria Andreeva, which campaigns for the return of Russian soldiers drafted from Ukraine, and two critical media outlets were also on the list.
The Kremlin's campaign of repression reached new heights following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow has effectively criminalized any criticism of the war, targeting not only prominent opposition leaders, who ultimately received harsh prison sentences, but anyone who voiced opposition to the war.
Duntsova is an advocate of peace in Ukraine, while Litvinovich has been vocal in his anti-war stance. Andreeva and the Way Home group have held several protests in Moscow, calling for the dismissal of reservists called up for the 2022 “partial mobilization” and their replacement with contract soldiers.
