On 5 September 2025, Russian independent media reported that the country’s Ministry of Interior had placed journalist and historian Maksim Kuzakhmetov on Russia’s ‘wanted’ list. Kuzakhmetov was added after authorities had opened a criminal case against him on grounds of not respecting his legal obligations as a “foreign agent”.
In 2024, a court in St. Petersburg had fined the journalist on the same grounds. 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.