On 22 December 2023, the Russian Ministry of Justice designated two journalists and two independent media outlets as “foreign agents”. Those concerned by the measure were: Valeriya Ratnikova, an anchor at TV Rain, a leading Russian independent online TV channel, Alexander Ryklin, the editor of online media Ezhednevny Zhurnal (Daily Newspaper), Verstka, a Russian independent online media created after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as well as Mozhem Obyasnit (We Can Explain, in Russian), a Russian independent online media project. All four were designated as “foreign agents” for criticizing the invasion, the Russian military and publishing content produced by other “foreign agents”.
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.