On 5 May 2023, the Russian Ministry of Justice designated independent journalist Yan Matveev, as well as several other Russian public personalities, as a “foreign agent”, Russian media reported quoting a press release by the ministry. According to authorities, Matveev supported Ukraine, compared contemporary Russia to Nazi Germany, disseminated “fake news” about Russian authorities, “created a negative image of military service” and worked for an organization already designated as a “foreign agent”. The journalist is known as a military affairs observer at Popularnaya Politika, an independent Russian news outlet mainly active on Youtube.
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.