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The Ministry of Justice has once again expanded the register of “foreign agents.” This was reported on the agency’s website.
The following have been added to the list:
- The civic movement for locating and bringing home Russian soldiers “Our Way Out”;
- Journalist Darya Litvishko;
- Co-founder of the “Free Yakutia” Foundation Raisa Zubareva;
- Journalist from Karelia, Valery Potashov;
- Activist and creator of the “Bolotnoye Case” website Pavel Elizarov;
- History blogger Nikolay Rosov.
12 July: After being designated a “foreign agent,” Valery Potashov announced an end to his Telegram channel “From Karelia with freedom.”
“I do not intend to accept this label, as I consider it degrading to my civic and human dignity. However, I understand that it is now virtually impossible to continue operating the ‘From Karelia with freedom’ Telegram channel, which I created after the start of the war in Ukraine. I do not want to put at risk my colleagues and activists who supported it, so I am ending the channel’s output. Thank you for being with us! Stay free!” Potashov said.
“If I have ever been any sort of agent, it was only for Karelia, where all my roots are,” he added.
Potashov has left the country, the channel reports. The date of his departure is not specified.
A few days earlier, on 8 July, his flat was searched as part of a case “opened against civil activists and journalists from the Komi Republic.” This was apparently the case involving Pavel Andreyev, founder of the “Revolt Centre” cultural space in Syktyvkar, a city in north-west Russia, which saw searches in several regions that day. That same day Potashov’s dacha was also searched—the investigative actions there were based on a court order stating the journalist was involved in the activities of “Novaya Gazeta. Europe,” which is designated as an “undesirable organisation” in Russia.
Security forces also visited Potashov in 2024—at that time, his premises were inspected, reportedly due to his previous collaboration with “Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.”