Russia has added The Moscow Times to its list of “foreign agents” alongside several other journalists and activists, the Justice Ministry announced Friday.
Russia’s “foreign agents” registry, launched in 2012 in response to similar legislation in the United States, has been disproportionately used to target independent journalists, activists and NGOs in recent years.
The “foreign agents” label imposes strict financial reporting and self-disclosure requirements.
The ministry’s foreign agent registry lists the websites of MT’s English and Russian-language editions — as well as its social media pages, including on LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Telegram — as subject to restrictions.
Russian authorities in May 2021 designated Stichting 2 Oktober, the foundation that at the time published The Moscow Times, as a “foreign agent,” forcing its closure as well as that of the independent VTimes business website.
This story is developing.
