On 6 September 2024, Russia’s Foreign Ministry designated journalists Alexander Savelyev and Zalina Marshenkulova as “foreign agents”, according to a ministry press release quoted by Russian media. Savelyev and Marshenkulova were accused of distributing content created by other foreign agents, disseminating “false information” about Russian authorities and decisions made by them, as well as condemning Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Marshenkulova was additionally accused of collecting funds in support of Ukraine, supporting LGBT rights and participating at an event organized by an “undesirable organization”.
Savelyev is a journalist from the southern Russian city of Krasnodar. He currently works for regional independent outlet Protokol and previously reported for the southern Russian edition of online outlet MBH Media. Zalina Marshenkulova is an independent journalist and feminist activist who founded website Breaking Mad and formerly co-led content studio Mamikhlapinatana.
Initially adopted in 2012, Russia’s law on foreign agents has been revised several times over the past decade to include an ever-wider range of potential targets for state-sponsored discrimination. Currently, any organization, media or private individual can be designated as such simply by being declared to be “under foreign influence” by the Russian Ministry of Justice or because of receiving funds of any amount from abroad (or from an entity itself receiving foreign funds). “Foreign agents” are also barred from receiving state financing, teaching at state universities, working with minors and providing expertise on environmental issues, among other restrictions.