On 1 September 2023, a court in Moscow registered a case against Russian journalist Matvey Ganapolskiy, on the basis that he shared publications without adding a disclaimer on his “foreign agent” status, which are compulsory for “foreign agents” in Russia. If found guilty, Ganapolskiy could be fined up to 50 thousand rubles. The journalist was designated as a “foreign agent” in April 2022, with Russian authorities claiming that he was receiving “foreign funding” from Ukraine, where he lives since 2014.
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 12 February 2024, a court in Moscow fined Ganapolskiy 50 thousand rubles on grounds of not respecting Russian laws on “foreign agents”.