Russia's 'Foreign Agents'

Russia has not only declared war on Ukraine. It is also at war with institutions or individuals it labels as "foreign agents" within the state. Russia's law on "foreign agents" was adopted in 2012, that is, before the annexation of Crimea. The law, which until 2017 only covered institutions or organizations operating within Russian territory, was expanded in 2017 to include media outlets. In 2019, individuals, including bloggers and independent journalists, began to be included in the list of foreign agents. So, who are these foreign agents?

These are institutions or individuals that receive funding from abroad and engage in activities broadly defined as "political activity." Individuals on this list face the risk of being sentenced to up to five years in prison if they do not fully report their activities in accordance with the requirements of the law. Even worse, Russian and foreign citizens who share content produced by media outlets labeled as "foreign agents" are also declared "foreign agents."

With this law, Russia aims to clear the information space of foreign agents whose views contradict those of Russian officials. The list of foreign agents is updated weekly by Russian authorities. With the start of the war against Ukraine, the number of defendants on the lists has increased. These lists have included numerous musicians, journalists, actors, writers, teachers, political commentators, artists, and media outlets who oppose the war and criticize Russia. Many were forced to leave Russia 2 years ago and settle in European Union countries, the USA, or Canada. Many independent media outlets have moved their headquarters to various European countries where they continue their operations.

Authors on these lists have been banned from selling books on Russian territory. Many have started selling their books by creating personal websites. Those who chose to stay in Russia have been banned from teaching in schools or universities. They can no longer work for the Russian state. They are banned from joining the army, but they can be sent to the front in the event of mobilization. Most independent Russian bloggers and journalists have created their own YouTube channels where they try to offer a perspective different from the message sent by Russian authorities. In a short time, some of these channels became extremely popular and were watched by millions of people all over the world. The Kremlin saw a danger here as well and recently passed a law banning operators from purchasing advertising from "foreign agents." This law is a blow to the survival of these channels, and many have already closed due to a lack of financial resources. The total number of "foreign agents" is 769 organizations and individuals.

So far, books by many foreign authors have been banned in Russia. One name that caught my eye was that of the British author George Orwell. The reason for this may be that the dystopian classic "1984" was the most downloaded book on the internet in Russia in 2022 and the most stolen book (460 times) from a Russian bookstore chain in 2023. The book "1984" was banned in the Soviet Union until 1988.

The concept of a "foreign agent" is not a new concept in the Russian lexicon. By 1930, the term "foreign agent" was routinely used by Stalin as a tool to crush anyone who opposed his dictatorship. During the Soviet totalitarian regime, the term "enemy of the people" was used more frequently to denote enemies of the communist regime. The term "foreign agent" is used synonymously with "fifth column" and can cover any sympathizer of the West. During the Cold War, for example, if the frequencies of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty (stations funded by the American Congress) in Eastern Europe and Russia were electronically jammed to prevent the enemy's message from being transmitted to the people in the socialist camp, today, the websites of these media outlets are blocked in Russia.

Historian George Kennan, who was appointed as the US ambassador to the USSR in 1951 during the Cold War, said that "all internal opposition forces in Russia were constantly portrayed as agents of foreign reactionary forces hostile to Soviet power." We see that not much has changed since 1951. However, Russian officials say that "these rules stem from the need to protect soldiers, officers, and the truth."

Russia is at war with its neighbor, and in times of war, often "the end justifies the means." However, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the "foreign agents" law violates the European Convention on Human Rights and the Council of Europe international agreement, which defends, among other things, freedom of expression and freedom of thought. This law is just one part of a broader campaign across Russia to suppress dissidents, the opposition, and civil society. It is a law that eliminates freedom of expression and instills fear in its citizens.