On 25 August 2023, Russian media reported that authorities were set to fine journalist and blogger Natalia Sevets-Yermolina on grounds of violating the country’s law on “foreign agents”, a status Sevets-Yermolina was handed in April. The journalist was accused of not marking one of her social media publications with a disclaimer of her status, which “foreign agents” are required to do according to Russian legislation. If convicted by a court, Sevets-Yermolina would face a fine of up to 50 thousand rubles.
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.
UPDATE: On October 18, a court in Petrozavodsk fined Sevets-Yermolina 30 thousand rubles on violating Russian laws imposing restrictions on people designated as “foreign agents”. The journalist said that she would not pay the fine, Russian independent media reported.