Long before Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the mass arrests of Russian peace activists, the Kremlin was already drowning in dissent – with suffocating bureaucracy.
Throughout 2021, the Kremlin tightened its grip on its opponents – including supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny – using a combination of arrests, Internet censorship and blacklists. The repression accelerated after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now a Reuters data analysis and interviews with dozens of people document the success of these tactics in eroding civil liberties.
A widely used weapon in the Kremlin arsenal is the state’s register of “foreign agents.” People whose names appear on this official list are closely monitored by the authorities. Among them is Galina Arapova, a lawyer who runs the non-profit Mass Media Defense Center, which advocates for freedom of expression and is based in Voronezh, western Russia.
The Ministry of Justice declared Arapova, 49, a “foreign agent” on October 8th. They did not tell her why. The ministry did not comment on the article.
The designation brings close government control of Arapova’s daily life and a mountain of bureaucracy. It must submit a quarterly report to the Ministry of Justice detailing its revenue and expenditure, including supermarket trips. The report has 44 pages. Reuters examined such a report.
Every six months, “foreign agents” must report to the ministry on how they spend their time. Some retirees list their homework. Arapova simply states in her account that she works as a lawyer, unsure if she provides enough details.
He offers legal advice to other “foreign agents”, but says he is often in the dark about what the rules require. “We do not fully understand exactly what they want to do because the law is very vague,” he told Reuters. “They do not explain anything. Do we have to list all the utility costs and the receipts from the supermarkets or just the total costs for three months?
Prints and posts the report to the ministry, with the pages carefully stitched together. If a page is missing or the report arrives late, it may be fined. Repeated violations can lead to prosecution and up to two years in prison.
Reuters sent detailed questions to the Kremlin, the Justice Ministry and other Russian agencies about the rules imposed on “foreign agents”. No one commented.
The bureaucracy does not end there.
Individuals who are considered “foreign agents” must establish a legal entity, such as a limited liability company. This is also added to the list of “foreign agents” and must report its activities to the authorities. The process includes finding places to register a legal entity, drawing up stamps and electronic signatures, submitting documents to the tax office and opening a corporate bank account. The company has to undergo annual audits, but, as Arapova explains, the auditors do not want to accept clients with “foreign agent” status and those who tend to charge a lot.
She estimates that compliance with the conditions so far has cost about 1,000 euros. Accounting fees will be added to this amount when the LLC is audited. Even more costly is the endless time spent meeting the requirements.
“It takes time from my job and it causes a lot of psychological stress,” he said. “When you are forced to do this kind of bureaucratic and humiliating nonsense, it is a kind of psychological torture.”
And that, some analysts say, is the Kremlin’s goal. These registries, said Ben Noble, an associate professor of Russian politics at University College London, “are part of a larger project that includes both moving against those who publicly criticize the government and trying to have a broader creepy result for to stop people. from even thinking of getting involved with the opposition or the critics, independent journalism, for fear that they will be effectively framed by the authorities as traitors. ”
“The repression we are seeing now,” since the outbreak of war, “is a spectacular escalation of trends that have already been demonstrated in recent years,” Noble said.
Reuters contacted the 76 people on the list of “foreign agents”, which is compiled by the Ministry of Justice and published on its website. Sixty-five answered a series of questions about how their name affected them, creating a unique data set. These individuals include journalists, retirees, activists and artists. Everyone is a critic of the Kremlin.
The respondents, all Russian citizens, denied that they worked for a foreign power. Most said they had not received any explanation for their inclusion on the list. Many lost their jobs or had to change jobs. Others said they left Russia because they did not feel safe. Dozens said they reduced their social media activity because what they publish, even personal posts on social media, must contain a 24-word disclaimer that identifies them as “foreign agents.” Since the invasion of Ukraine, at least five people on the register have said they were briefly detained for participating in anti-war demonstrations or reporting on the war. At least one more booking was reported locally.
Many critics accuse Putin of restoring Soviet-style repression. The Kremlin says it is enforcing laws to prevent extremism and shield the country from what it describes as malicious foreign influence. As for Ukraine, Putin says it is carrying out a “special operation” not designed to seize territory but to destroy its southern neighbor’s military capabilities, “de-nationalize” it and prevent genocide against Russian-speakers, especially in Russia. east of the country. Ukraine and its Western allies call it an unfounded pretext for a war to conquer a country of 44 million people.
List extension
The law on “foreign agents” was introduced in 2012 and targeted non-governmental organizations that were politically active and receiving funding from abroad. Political activity can include legal work and human rights and journalism, Arapova said. The law has evolved to cover an ever-increasing number of groups and people. In 2017, the Russian Ministry of Justice began to label the media as “foreign agents.” In December 2020, the authorities used the designation in a new way – designating individuals as “foreign agents” for the first time.
Veronika Katkova, a 66-year-old retiree watching the Golos election campaign in Russia’s Oryol region, south of Moscow, was added to the list in late September 2021. It was shortly after the parliamentary elections that the opposition said it was being stacked in his favor. Putin’s United Russia party. Golos claimed there were widespread violations of the vote, which the Kremlin denied. Katkova believes she was described as a “foreign agent” because of her involvement with Golo. The Russian authorities did not answer any questions on the matter.
As a “foreign agent”, she reports all her expenses to the Ministry of Justice every quarter, including food, medicine and transportation, and every six months she reports on her activities such as cleaning her house and cooking. In January, she forgot to add to a social media post the necessary disclaimer denouncing her as a foreign agent. The state communications regulator has opened a case against it, which could lead to a fine, he said. The regulator did not comment on this article.
Lyudmila Savitskaya, a freelance journalist from Russia’s Pskov region bordering the Baltic states and one of the first people to be added to the list in December 2020, said the designation did not leave her privacy. “The state knows what I do, what my bank accounts and expenses look like, where I go and what medicines I buy.”
Thirty people on the list told Reuters they had left Russia.
Journalist Yulia Lukyanova, 25, is one of them. He now lives in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, where many other dissident Russians are based. Russians can stay in Georgia, a former Soviet state on the southern side of Russia, for up to a year without a visa. However, some Georgians are unhappy with their presence, as memories of Russia’s invasion of the country in 2008 are still fresh. Lukyanova shared a photo of an anti-Russian sticker that she said appeared on her street. Shows a matryoshka doll with sharp teeth. He said a friend had a hard time finding an apartment because some people did not want to rent it to Russians, even Russians who criticized Putin. He believes Georgians fear that if their country hosts hostile Russians, it could become a target for the Kremlin. “It must be difficult for the Georgians and I’m sorry,” he said.
Lucianova opposes Russia’s war in Ukraine. “I do not want people to be sent to fight a war they did not vote for, to be imprisoned for protesting against it or to report as journalists.”
Elizaveta Surnacheva, 35, a journalist from Moscow, moved to Kyiv in March 2020, then to Tbilisi and finally to Riga. Her Ukrainian husband, who is of combat age, stayed in Ukraine.
“It’s very scary,” Surnacheva said. “Even in my worst nightmare, I could not imagine discussing with my husband which blanket would best protect him from the shards of a bathroom mirror if he were hiding there in an explosion. “My dream now is to return to a free Ukraine and help rebuild Kyiv and our lives there.”
She continued to add the denial of responsibility for a foreign agent to her social media posts even after she left Russia because she wanted to be able to go home to visit her parents. But that changed on February 24, when Russian troops entered Ukraine and Putin’s repression of his domestic opponents intensified. Now Surnacheva and at least 20 “foreign agents” interviewed by Reuters say they are afraid …
title: “Putin Targets Enemies At Home As His Missiles Strike Ukraine " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-14” author: “Laura Hurley”
Throughout 2021, the Kremlin tightened its grip on its opponents – including supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny – using a combination of arrests, Internet censorship and blacklists. The repression accelerated after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now a Reuters data analysis and interviews with dozens of people document the success of these tactics in eroding civil liberties.
A widely used weapon in the Kremlin arsenal is the state register of “foreign agents”. People whose names appear on this official list are closely monitored by the authorities. Among them is Galina Arapova, a lawyer who runs the non-profit Mass Media Defense Center, which advocates for freedom of expression and is based in Voronezh, western Russia.
The Ministry of Justice declared Arapova, 49, a “foreign agent” on October 8th. They did not tell her why. The ministry did not comment on the article.
The designation brings close government control of Arapova’s daily life and a mountain of bureaucracy. It must submit a quarterly report to the Ministry of Justice detailing its revenue and expenditure, including supermarket trips. The report has 44 pages. Reuters examined such a report.
Every six months, “foreign agents” must report to the ministry on how they spend their time. Some retirees list their homework. Arapova simply states in her account that she works as a lawyer, unsure if she provides enough details.
He offers legal advice to other “foreign agents”, but says he is often in the dark about what the rules require. “We do not fully understand exactly what they want to do because the law is very vague,” he told Reuters. “They do not explain anything. Do we have to list all the community expenses and the receipts from the supermarkets or just the total expenses for three months?”
Prints and posts the report to the ministry, with the pages carefully stitched together. If a page is missing or the report arrives late, it may be fined. Repeated violations can lead to prosecution and up to two years in prison.
Reuters sent detailed questions to the Kremlin, the Justice Ministry and other Russian agencies about the rules imposed on “foreign agents”. No one commented.
The bureaucracy does not end there.
Individuals who are considered “foreign agents” must establish a legal entity, such as a limited liability company. And this is added to the list of “foreign agents” and must report its activities to the authorities. The process includes finding places to register a legal entity, drawing up stamps and electronic signatures, submitting documents to the tax office and opening a corporate bank account. The company has to undergo annual audits, but, as Arapova explains, the auditors do not want to accept clients with “foreign agent” status and those who do tend to charge a lot.
She estimates that compliance with the conditions so far has cost about 1,000 euros. Accounting fees will be added to this amount when the LLC is audited. Even more costly is the endless time spent meeting the requirements.
“It takes time from my job and it causes a lot of psychological stress,” he said. “When you are forced to do this kind of bureaucratic and humiliating nonsense, it is a kind of psychological torture.”
And that, some analysts say, is the Kremlin’s goal. These registries, said Ben Noble, an associate professor of Russian politics at University College London, “are part of a larger project that includes both moving against those who publicly criticize the government and trying to have a broader creepy result for to stop people. from even thinking of getting involved with the opposition or the critics, independent journalism, for fear that they will be effectively framed by the authorities as traitors. “
“The repression we are seeing now,” since the outbreak of war, “is a spectacular escalation of trends that have already been demonstrated in recent years,” Noble said.
Reuters contacted the 76 people on the list of “foreign agents”, which is compiled by the Ministry of Justice and published on its website. Sixty-five answered a series of questions about how their name affected them, creating a unique data set. These individuals include journalists, retirees, activists and artists. Everyone is a critic of the Kremlin.
The respondents, all Russian citizens, denied that they worked for a foreign power. Most said they had not received any explanation for their inclusion on the list. Many lost their jobs or had to change jobs. Others said they left Russia because they did not feel safe. Dozens said they reduced their social media activity because what they publish, even personal posts on social media, must contain a 24-word disclaimer that identifies them as “foreign agents.”
Since the invasion of Ukraine, at least five people on the register have said they were briefly detained for participating in anti-war demonstrations or reporting on the war. At least one more booking was reported locally.
Many critics accuse Putin of restoring Soviet-style repression. The Kremlin says it is enforcing laws to prevent extremism and shield the country from what it describes as malicious foreign influence. As for Ukraine, Putin says it is carrying out a “special operation” not designed to seize territory, but to destroy its southern neighbor’s military capabilities, “de-nationalize” it and prevent genocide against Russian-speaking people, especially to the east the country. Ukraine and its Western allies call it an unfounded pretext for a war to conquer a country of 44 million people.
LIST EXTENSION
The law on “foreign agents” was introduced in 2012 and was addressed to non-governmental organizations that were politically active and receiving funding from abroad. Political activity can include legal work and human rights and journalism, Arapova said. The law has evolved to cover an ever-increasing number of groups and people. In 2017, the Russian Ministry of Justice began to label the media as “foreign agents.” In December 2020, the authorities used the designation in a new way – designating individuals as “foreign agents” for the first time.
Veronika Katkova, a 66-year-old retiree watching the Golos election campaign in Russia’s Oryol region, south of Moscow, was added to the list in late September 2021. It was shortly after the parliamentary elections that the opposition said it was being stacked in his favor. Putin’s United Russia party. Golos claimed there were widespread violations of the vote, which the Kremlin denied. Katkova believes she was described as a “foreign agent” because of her involvement with Golo. The Russian authorities did not answer any questions on the matter.
As a “foreign agent”, she reports all her expenses to the Ministry of Justice every quarter, including food, medicine and transportation, and every six months she reports on her activities, such as cleaning her house and cooking. In January, she forgot to add to a social media post the necessary disclaimer denouncing her as a foreign agent. The state communications regulator has opened a case against it, which could lead to a fine, he said. The regulator did not comment on this article.
Lyudmila Savitskaya, a freelance journalist from Russia’s Pskov region bordering the Baltic states and one of the first people to be added to the list in December 2020, said the designation did not leave her privacy. “The state knows what I do, what my bank accounts and expenses look like, where I go and what medicines I buy.”
Thirty people on the list told Reuters they had left Russia.
Journalist Yulia Lukyanova, 25, is one of them. He now lives in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, where many other dissident Russians are based. Russians can stay in Georgia, a former Soviet state on the southern side of Russia, for up to a year without a visa. However, some Georgians are unhappy with their presence, as memories of Russia’s invasion of the country in 2008 are still fresh. Lukyanova shared a photo of an anti-Russian sticker that she said appeared on her street. Shows a matryoshka doll with sharp teeth. He said a friend had a hard time finding an apartment because some people did not want to rent it to Russians, even Russians who criticized Putin. He believes Georgians fear that if their country hosts hostile Russians, it could become a target for the Kremlin. “It must be difficult for the Georgians and I’m sorry,” he said.
Lucianova opposes Russia’s war in Ukraine. “I do not want people to be sent to fight a war they did not vote for, to be imprisoned because they protested against it or if they reported as journalists.”
Elizaveta Surnacheva, 35, a journalist from Moscow, moved to Kyiv in March 2020, then to Tbilisi and finally to Riga. Her Ukrainian husband, who is of combat age, stayed in Ukraine.
“It’s very scary,” Surnacheva said. “Even in my worst nightmare, I could not imagine discussing with my husband which blanket would best protect him from the shards of a bathroom mirror if he were hiding there in an explosion. “My dream now is to go back to a free Ukraine and help rebuild Kiev and our lives there.”
She continued to add the denial of responsibility for a foreign agent to her social media posts even after she left Russia because she wanted to be able to go home to visit her parents. But that changed on February 24, when Russian troops entered Ukraine and Putin’s repression of his domestic opponents intensified. Now Surnacheva and at least 20 “foreign agents” interviewed by Reuters say they are afraid to return to Russia for fear of arrest or harassment.
“I have decided that I will no longer follow any of these ‘foreign agent’ rules,” he said. “It is clear to me that I will not go to Russia in the next …
