Plenary session of the State Duma. Photo: State Duma website
The State Duma approved, in both the second and immediately the third readings, a bill on the “strengthening of state control” over “foreign agents.” This was reported on the website of the lower house of the Russian parliament.
The amendments, in particular, provide for:
• a ban on placing social advertising on social networks and on the resources of “foreign agents.” In addition, individuals and organizations with this status will be prohibited from ordering such advertising. Previously, the restriction applied only to commercial advertisements;
• an obligation for banks to provide the Justice Ministry, within three days of a request, with information on the financial transactions, accounts, and deposits of “foreign agents”;
• a ban on resubmitting an application for removal from the registry if a person or organization was denied less than a year ago. At the same time, as the human rights group “First Department” noted, this will not affect individuals who have received “foreign agent” status for the first time;
• an obligation for “foreign agents” to submit most of their reports to the Justice Ministry electronically rather than on paper, as is currently the case. At the same time, the form confirming that there have been no changes was left in its previous format;
• the exclusion of “foreign agents” from the scope of the law “On Mandatory Requirements,” which protects businesses, organizations, and citizens from excessively frequent inspections and excessive demands by the authorities. Human rights advocates concluded that it will become easier to inspect people and organizations with this status.
The status of “foreign agent” was introduced in Russia in 2012. At that time, the registry included those for whom the Justice Ministry found “foreign financing.” This could include, in particular, one-time money transfers from citizens of other countries, including Belarus. Since 2022, a person in Russia can be designated a “foreign agent” even without financing from other countries, solely on the basis of “foreign influence.”
At the time this news item was written, the Justice Ministry registry included more than 1,200 individuals and legal entities. According to “OVD-Info,” 178 people and 37 organizations were added to the list in 2024. Moreover, 96% of them were found to have no foreign financing.
There will soon be more registries than citizens in Russia
Quiz: guess which of them are real and which are, for now, absurd fiction