On 10 September 2024, a court in St. Petersburg fined journalist and historian Maksim Kuzakhmetov on the grounds that he did not respect his obligations as a “foreign agent”, which he was designated as in June 2023. Russian independent media quoted Kuzakhmetov, who confirmed that he had not respected his obligations, and did not plan to, as he considered these to be “degrading”. These obligations include adding disclaimers on “foreign agent” status to all publications and submitting regular activity and financial reports to authorities.
In June 2023, Russian authorities designated Kuzakhmetov as a “foreign agent” accusing him of opposing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and of supporting Ukrainian authorities, giving interviews to foreign media as well as distributing content produced by other “foreign agents”. Russian authorities also claimed that Kuzakhmetov was an “ideologist” working for Free Ingria, a movement advocating for the autonomy or independence of the region of St. Petersburg from Russia.
Kuzakhmetov was previously a presenter at radio station Echo of Moscow. He also worked at Dilettante, a magazine, and was the editor-in-chief of the St. Petersburg edition of Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets.
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.