On 12 January 2024, the Russian Ministry of Justice designated Kholod, a Russian exiled media, as well as Novaya Gazeta journalist Alexander Minkin, as “foreign agents”. Both received the designation for a range of alleged violations, which included “disseminating false information, creating a negative image of Russia and of its armed forces”, opposing the war in Ukraine, disseminating materials created by other “foreign agents”, as well as “disseminating false information on decisions” made by Russian authorities.
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.