Foreign agents in Russia

Political NGOs

In the legislation, the concept of "foreign agent" appeared in 2012, when the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted amendments to the law "On non-profit organizations." The idea of ​ ​ the authorities was that NGOs that are somehow engaged in political activities, while receiving foreign funding, should warn the state about this. At the same time, the confession should have been voluntary - non-profit organizations that were engaged, for example, in monitoring the transparency of elections, should themselves have stated to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation that they were somehow connected with foreign money^[1]

Until 2014, the first register of foreign agents included the only organization about which no one knew anything in the field of NGOs. The situation changed when recognition as a foreign agent ceased to be an exclusively voluntary matter: from now on, NGOs could be forcibly recognized as a foreign agent following inspections by the Ministry of Justice. Most often, such inspections are unscheduled, but some organizations received the status of a foreign agent after scheduled visits by inspectors. Already in the summer of 2014, the Memorial human rights center and several other organizations added to the list.

In 2015, lawmakers prescribed mechanisms for NGOs to withdraw from the register of foreign agents. The easiest way is to simply liquidate the organization. You can also try to prove that the NGO stopped engaging in political activities or stopped receiving money from abroad. The third option is to quickly return foreign money and not receive it again.

Many organizations were able to leave the register: if at the peak there were more than 220 organizations, 2021 NGOs are considered foreign agents in 76. All of them, within the meaning of the law, should be engaged in political activities. But since the law interprets this concept very widely, the register includes human rights organizations, support institutions MEDIA, , as well as, for example, organizations fighting HIV. Not a single NGO from the register was able to prove through the court that there is no policy in its work.

Media foreign agents

In 2017, a Russia law on foreign media agents was adopted in. They are recognized as legal entities operating in Russia and distributing information on foreign money, registered abroad, or foreign structures without formations a legal entity. At the same time, in practice, it is still unclear on what basis this or that media is included in the register, and especially the mechanism for exiting it is not clear.

The media are created precisely for the dissemination of information, so foreign funding has become the only criterion for inclusion in the new register. The new norms of the law, according to the plan of its authors, can be applied to foreign media, and to Russian organizations, and even to ordinary people who disseminate information.

Foreign media agents are required to do the same as NGOs - report on spending funds, indicate the personal composition of the management and label their materials, telling the audience about the status. At the same time, if an NGO at least has a mechanism for leaving the register, foreign media agents are deprived of such an opportunity. Theoretically, you can try to challenge the decision through the court, but the law on the possibility of leaving the register does not say anything.

Moreover, the legal community does not have an understanding of how the process of including the media in the register takes place. If the Ministry of Justice conducts inspections of NGOs, as a result of which organizations can recognize as foreign agents, then who checks the media in this sense is not clear. The law doesn't say anything about it.

At the end of 2019, foreign media agents were obliged to register their legal entities in Russia. Moreover, the media recognized by foreign agents are forced to register commercial organizations, and the law says that the norms of the law on NGOs can be applied to such companies. This is absurd from a legal point of view: LLCs submit reports as NGOs performing the functions of a foreign agent.

Individual-mass media-foreign agents

Member of the Human Rights Council Eva Merkacheva clarified in 2021 from representatives of the Ministry of Justice, for which the journalist can be personally recognized as a foreign agent. It turned out that the reason may be, among other things, a press tour or a trip to a conference paid for by a foreign organization, as well as foreign prizes for winning competitions and even transfers from relatives from abroad. The law doesn't say anything about it.

Ordinary people who are personally recognized as foreign agents should also open their own company. If in the case of an organization the principle is clear - the state can apply liability measures only to a Russian legal entity - then why people-foreign agents should create companies, and in practice it turns out that it is commercial, from the point of view of law, it is not clear.

A person or organization that is included in the register has a month to create a legal entity and another month to submit reports. Moreover, a notification of creation by law can be sent either through the website or by Russian Post. And if NGOs can download the form directly on the website of the Ministry of Justice - there is such functionality there - then for the media over the years since the emergence of the law, such a technical opportunity promised by the law has not been provided. Therefore, there is only one way - with your feet to the mail.

It is quite difficult to register a company: you need to fill out all the papers correctly, which is almost unrealistic for a person without training, to find an accountant, even if the reporting is zero, you need to open an account and have at least 10 thousand rubles in the bank as the authorized capital. The legal entity also needs a registration address. At the same time, this legal entity is not included in any register of foreign agents by law.

Organizations created by individuals-foreign agents, according to the law, must also submit reports to the tax office in special forms. And individuals themselves must submit reports to the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. The report needs to describe where the money came from and what it was spent on - relatively speaking, 20 thousand for food, 3 for the purchase of paper, 5 for cat food. At the same time, it is not indicated anywhere how to take into account exactly this, whether it is necessary to store and attach checks to reporting. Reports are submitted according to the forms approved for NPO-foreign agents, but citizens recognized by foreign agents, the order of the Ministry of Justice allows, for example, not to indicate information about governing bodies in the OGRN documents.

From 2022, the reporting forms will seriously change. For example, if earlier it was necessary to report quarterly, then if there are no changes regarding the reports of foreign media agents, soon the state will need 7 reports, which will have to be submitted at different intervals and at different times during the year. Individuals-foreign agents can wait for the Ministry of Justice to issue a new order on how to submit reports to them.

Sooner or later, when a mechanism for exiting the register appears for the media and journalists, many LLCs will no longer need and they will need to be liquidated. This is a complex procedure that people without legal education and business practice cannot master on their own. If the legal entity is simply abandoned, sooner or later he will be expelled from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, but then the founder-journalist will lose the right to establish any other organizations for three years.

Register of Foreign Media Acting as Foreign Agent

Main article: Register of Foreign Media Acting as Foreign Agent (Foreign Media Agent)

2023

Advertising with foreign bloggers reached 133 million rubles

The volume of advertising from foreign bloggers in Russia in 2023 exceeded 133 million rubles. This is evidenced by the data of the Unified Register of Internet Advertising (ERIR), which is maintained by the Main Radio Frequency Center (GRCC) under Roskomnadzor. Statistics published in February 2023.

As RBC writes with reference to the materials of the ERIR, advertising from foreign agents, according to Roskomnadzor, in 2023 were interested in companies in the fields of additional education, visa services and citizenship of other countries, as well as companies providing legal, medical and tourist services, psychologist services and flower products. In total, at the end of 2023, ERIR received information that advertising integrations were ordered from 15 foreign agents. Roskomnadzor does not specify who exactly is in question.

Pexels

In November 2023, Roskomnadzor said that advertising on Instagram (the service belongs to Meta, which is recognized as extremist in Russia and banned) should also be labeled. The regulator told RBC that it records cases of "non-compliance with the established requirements" on Instagram and foreign bloggers, but they are associated precisely with such advertising and its labeling. In January 2024, the department opened more than 20 administrative cases due to such violations.

According to Vadim Melnikov, digital director of the AD ad group, advertisers' budgets for promotion on Instagram and foreign agents are "insignificant and invisible."

Large advertisers, for the most part, are not ready to take risks and fully comply with the requirements of the law, "he said in a conversation with the publication.

According to the managing partner of the partner of the Pen & Paper Bar Association Alexei Dobrynin, the legislation in force by February 2024 does not prohibit advertising from foreign agents, but the establishment of a legislative ban on such advertising has been repeatedly discussed by parliamentarians.^[2]

The amount of fines for the lack of marking of foreign agents for 2 years exceeded 1 billion rubles

The amount of fines imposed on foreign agents for the lack of labeling in 2022-2023. amounted to 1.17 billion rubles. This was announced in early February 2024 by the head of the control and supervision department in the field of electronic communications of Roskomnadzor Evgeny Zaytsev.

According to him, in two years the service blocked more than 4,200 sites and individual materials of unwanted organizations. Zaytsev said that the spread of extremist content is one of the factors destabilizing the socio-political situation. For 2022-2023 over 792 thousand materials containing such content are blocked or deleted.

Pexels

According to the Russian legislation in force by February 2024, people and organizations recognized by the Ministry of Justice as foreign agents are obliged to preface all their publications with special labeling. For its absence, fines are provided for individuals from 30 thousand to 50 thousand rubles, for legal entities - from 300 thousand to 500 thousand. The third violation within a year can become a reason for a criminal case with a maximum punishment of up to two years in prison.

In addition, in July 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed laws strengthening control over the implementation of legislation on foreign agents. In particular, the Ministry of Justice will be able to control the implementation of the law not only by foreign agents themselves, but also by those who interact with such citizens: they will not have to help foreign agents bypass restrictions. In addition, the law deprives foreign agents of the opportunity to receive financial and property support from the state, including for creative activities.

According to the Ministry of Justice, among individuals included in the register of foreign agents, the share of journalists in 2023 decreased from 35 to 19%, the share of politicians and political scientists jumped from 8 to 12%, the percentage of parliamentarians increased from 1 to 5.3, bloggers - from 2 to 4%.^[3]

The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the first time recognized VPN as a

On November 17, 2023, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the first time included in the list of foreign agents of the VPN service provider - Hidemy.network. At the same time, the status of a foreign agent was not assigned to her for her provider activities. Read more here.

2022

The volume of fines of foreign agents in Russia for the year increased 60 times

In 2022, Roskomnadzor imposed fines on foreign agents in Russia in the amount of about 228.6 million rubles, which is 60 times more than a year earlier (3.8 million rubles). Such data are given in the report of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on the activities of foreign agents.

According to the materials of the department, in 2022, 156 protocols on administrative offenses against 58 in 2021 were drawn up against foreign agents. The protocols were drawn up under Art. 19.34 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (violation of the procedure for the activities of a foreign agent), which provides for punishment in the form of a fine - for citizens in the amount of 30 thousand to 50 thousand rubles; for officials - from 100 thousand to 300 thousand rubles; for legal entities - from 300 thousand to 500 thousand rubles. It is also noted that according to two protocols, a decision was made to terminate the proceedings due to the lack of an offense.

As of December 31, 2022, 515 organizations and individuals were included in the register of foreign agents, of which 347 were valid, including:

• 63 non-profit organizations;
• 35 Russian legal entities;
• 14 public associations functioning without acquiring the rights of a legal entity;
• 12 foreign legal entities;
• 8 foreign structures without formations a legal entity;
• 2 other associations of persons;
• 213 individuals.

In total, 188 persons were included in the register of foreign agents in 2022, which is 42.6% more than a year earlier (108). The main increase was provided by individuals and legal entities recognized by foreign media agents: 167 new defendants against 94 a year earlier.

The Ministry of Justice explained this trend by an increase in the number of publications in the media, which contained "unconstructive criticism of representatives of authorities of various levels, decisions and laws taken and developed," were aimed at discrediting the Russian army and the military special operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, at promoting LGBT people and "undermining traditional Russian spiritual and moral values."

In 2022, 11 NGOs were included in the register, which, with the established participation of them in political activities, also received funds from foreign sources (in 2021 - 10).^[4]

Report of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on foreign agents for 2022

US spending on financing foreign agents in Russia for the year increased 4 times

By the end of 2022, the United States became the largest sponsor of foreign agents in Russia. This was announced at the end of May 2023 by the head of the State Duma commission to investigate outside interference Vasily Piskarev.

The commission's Telegram channel reports that in 2022 the United States spent about 270 million rubles to finance foreign agents in the Russian Federation against 60 million rubles a year earlier. According to Piskarev, these are only officially tracked amounts, the real ones are many times more.

The head of the State Duma commission to investigate outside interference Vasily Piskarev

He also cited data according to which in total in 2022-2024 the United States will allocate "about $9.5 billion to support democracy in the world." The deputy gave an example of how the American non-governmental organization Freedom House "works out" the money received. Piskarev said that Freedom House has prepared a report in which it recorded the largest drop in Russia's rating in terms of democracy over the past 30 years. One of the countries in which this indicator is growing is named. Ukraine

Further, it would be possible not to comment, but I want to draw attention to one fact. According to the authors of the report, they base their conclusions on information supplied by foreign agents, - wrote Piskarev.

He added that Washington does not spare funds for the "anti-Russian solicitor," and their henchmen, who are loudly outraged by the status of a foreign agent inconvenient for them, "are preparing foul-smelling reports in order to defame their country."

At the end of 2022, the State Duma adopted a law on improving the regulation of the status of a foreign agent. In particular, foreign agents were banned from holding rallies and demonstrations near a number of places, conducting educational and educational activities against minors.^[5]

A unified register of individuals affiliated with foreign agents is being created in Russia

On June 22, 2022, it became known about the creation in Russia of a unified register of individuals affiliated with foreign agents. The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation will be responsible for its jurisdiction. Read more here.

2021: FSB named the data for the collection of which you can become a foreign agent

At the end of September 2021, the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia listed the data for the collection of which you can become a foreign agent. This is not gosteina and unclassified information.

According to RIA Novosti with reference to the corresponding order of the FSB, 60 items were included in the list of information in the field of military and military-technical activities that are not related to state secrets, but which, if transferred to other states or foreigners, can be used against the security of Russia, and persons who purposefully collect such data for a foreign customer can be recognized as foreign agents.

The FSB disclosed data for the collection of which you can become a foreign agent

The list includes, among other things:

• information on estimates and forecasts of the development of the military-political and strategic situation;
• information on the deployment of the Armed Forces and security forces;
• data on the moral and psychological climate in the Russian army;
• information on methods of combat training of military personnel;
• information on the use of quantum technologies and artificial intelligence in the creation of new weapons and special equipment;
• information on the target programs of Roscosmos, information on the procedure, timing and amount of financing of the company;
• information on problems, including financial and economic ones, restraining the development of Roscosmos;
• information on the creation and implementation of space technologies in the interests of the country's defense and state security;
• information on the development of space nuclear power;
• information revealing the initial data for the conclusion of international treaties in the field of space activities;
• information on the manufacturer's assessments of the quality of Russian weapons, military and special equipment, their combat capabilities, with the exception of information contained in the public domain;
• data on the progress and results of the consideration of reports of crimes in the army, which are investigated by the FSB and the military investigation of the UK (except for cases when officers of the FSB and the Investigative Committee were allowed to do this).^[6][7]

Notes