On 27 July 2023, Russian media reported that courts in Moscow and in the city of Pskov (north-western Russia) were set to examine fines against three Russian journalists, who are accused of not adding disclaimers on their “foreign agent” status to their publications. Courts in Moscow registered the case of Ekaterina Kotrikadze, the head of the news service at TV Rain, Russia’s most popular independent TV channel, as well against Ruslan Leviev, the founder of the Conflict Intelligence Team project. Additionally, a court in Pskov was set to examine the case of Denis Kamalyagin, editor-in-chief of the exiled local indepdendent media Pskovskaya Gubernia. Kamalyagin was also set to be fined for not submitting a report on his income, which “foreign agents” are obliged to report on to authorities according to Russian legislation.
All three journalists were recognized as “foreign agents” or forced to leave Russia due to their activities following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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 17 August, a court in Moscow fined Ekaterina Kotrikadze 40 thousand rubles for not adding “foreign agent” disclaimers to her publications. Additionally, investigative Russian online media The Insider was fined 400 thousand rubles on the same grounds, on the following day. Both cases were reported on by the Russian website OVD Info.
UPDATE: On 28 August 2023, a court in Moscow fined Ruslan Leviev 45 thousand rubles for not adding “foreign agent” disclaimers to his publications. On the same day, a court in Pskov fined Denis Kamalyagin 35 thousand rubles on the same grounds.
UPDATE: On 26 September 2023, Kamalyagin was again fined for not adding disclaimers on his “foreign agent” status to his publications, with a court in Pskov this time demanding a penalty of 40 thousand rubles from the journalist. As noted by Sever.Realii, the regional service for northwestern Russia of RFE/RL, a U.S. Congress-financed media corporation, Kamalyagin has now received three fines related to his “foreign agent” status, which now gives Russian authorities the option to open a criminal case against him. The presently exiled journalist also faces at least one more potential fine for not sending activity and financial reports to the Russian Ministry of Justice, which “foreign agents” in Russia are legally obliged to do, Sever.Realii noted.
UPDATE: On July 1, Russian media reported that a court in Pskov fined Kamalyagin an additional 30 thousand rubles for allegedly not fulfilling his legal obligations as a “foreign agent”. The same court ruling also imposed a 300 thousand ruble fine on the legal entity representing Kamalyagin, named Kak By Inagent (“As if a foreign agent”), also on grounds of not respecting legislation of “foreign agents”.