What Putin's New 'Foreign Agents' Law Means For Dissenters in Russia

Legislation comes into effect in Russia on Thursday which is expected to toughen the crackdown on those opposing the regime of Vladimir Putin.

In July, the Russian president approved amendments to the so-called foreign agent law which rights groups have said was being used as a tool to suppress dissent.

That law from 2012 initially targeting NGOs was brought in after anti-Putin protests and defined "foreign agents" as organizations or individuals deemed to have received foreign financial support.

It has been applied to organizations that challenge the Kremlin, such as human rights groups and independent news outlets. Those with the label have to declare their status on all online posts.

But new legislation passed by the Russian parliament (Duma) and approved by Putin takes effect on December 1 which widens the definition of "foreign agent" to include people and groups "affiliated with foreign agents."

Duma chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said the legislation was targeted at "those who dance to someone else's tune and get paid."

Meanwhile, the Duma website said the legislation was aimed at "making the procedure for monitoring the activities of individuals and organizations being under foreign influence more transparent."

This list will be maintained by Russia's Justice Ministry and will include anyone who has worked with a "foreign agent" or received financing from one.

Those on the list will be barred from state funding, teaching at state universities or working with children under the new law. Their websites can also be blocked without a court order.

A government decree published on November 10 this year said Russian authorities can publicize the personal data of people and groups labeled "foreign agents," including names, birth dates, taxpayer identification and individual insurance account numbers.

British defense officials said on Wednesday that the publication of personal details of those on the list, "almost certainly placing them at risk of harassment."

"The new laws will further extend the repressive powers available to the Russian state," the British MOD said, which "continues a trend since Putin returned to the presidency in 2012, but which has dramatically accelerated since the invasion of Ukraine."

It said the "foreign agents law" was part of Kremlin plans to act "pre-emptively to prevent greater domestic dissent as the conflict remains unresolved and increasingly impacts Russians' everyday lives," the MOD added.

The newspaper Kommersant reported on November 21 that the Duma was also looking to add new prohibitions to ban "foreign agents" from serving in security, law enforcement and government jobs.

Meanwhile, Sam Greene, director of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), tweeted on November 22 that the ban would likely extend to other spheres such as education, which would "impact the friends and relatives" of "foreign agents", and to ban them from teaching.

Greene said this will encourage the use of the law to show loyalty, as government officials search for colleagues "who can be offered up for sacrifice."

He added that will mean that those working for or near the Russian state will cut their international connections even more "as any international engagement at all becomes not just toxic, but dangerous."

The new legislation has caused alarm among rights groups.

Human Rights Watch EU director, Philippe Dam, tweeted on November 25 that Russia's repression "is getting tighter and tighter."

Russia researcher at HRW, Damelya Aitkhozhina, said that the foreign agent law has grown in scope since 2012 from focusing on NGOs to individuals, media outlets and public associations and the new legislation would bring it under one umbrella.

"Over the years, the law was becoming increasingly repressive and has moved from administrative penalties to include criminal liability," she told Newsweek.

She said the broadness of the new legislation "has very serious implications" for civil society. It meant that Russian authorities "don't have to prove that you receive a single penny of foreign money as long as they can establish this undefined notion of foreign influence."

"It's just yet another tool in their ever-expanding toolbox because they have so many different oppressive laws and they continue to expand their capabilities.

"As long as there is political will or desire to go after an individual or a group, it's pretty much guaranteed that they have a norm to go after them."

Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for additional comment.

Update 11/30/22, 11:45 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Human Rights Watch Russia researcher, Damelya Aitkhozhina.