Fines, charges and pressure over violations of ‘foreign agent’ legislation: Human rights news, court updates & analysis | 30 related articles

14.05.2025

14:30

The Leningrad Regional Court has overturned the fine imposed on St Petersburg priest Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko. He wrote about this on his Telegram channel.

In March, Mikhnov-Vaitenko was fined 15,000 roubles (approx. US$165) under an article for failure to comply with an order to eliminate violations of the “foreign agent” legislation (Part 42, Article 19.5 of the Administrative Code).

The reason was a repost from the outlet Bumaga, which has been designated a “foreign agent.” The court decided that the priest had not indicated the project’s status after being warned by the Ministry of Justice. Mikhnov-Vaitenko himself stated that he had not received any instructions from the authorities. The appeal court agreed that the Ministry of Justice had not properly informed the priest, and cancelled the fine.

Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko was also added to the “foreign agent” register in July 2024. The Ministry of Justice stated that the priest had spoken out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and had spread unreliable information about the actions of the Russian authorities.

09.05.2025

20:11

The TV channel “TV3” has cut scenes featuring Anatoly Bely, who has been designated a “foreign agent,” from the film “The Dawns Here Are Quiet.” This was reported by the publication Verstka.

This concerns the adaptation of the novella “The Dawns Here Are Quiet…,” which was released in Russian cinemas in 2015. In it, actor Anatoly Bely plays a minor role as Major “Comrade 'Third'.”

In the film, the actor appears for one minute: after a drunken brawl between soldiers, their sergeant Fedot Vaskov is reprimanded by “Comrade 'Third'.” As a result, the major gives Vaskov the task of bringing in new recruits who do not drink.

Additionally, Bely’s character appears at the end of the film, running to the wounded Vaskov with reinforcements. In the TV3 version, Bely is only visible in moments where he cannot be recognised due to blurred footage. Anatoly Bely’s name has also been removed from the film’s credits.

The Ministry of Justice added Anatoly Bely to the register of “foreign agents” in December 2023. The ministry stated that Bely distributed materials from other “foreign agents,” criticised the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and took part in events raising funds for the Ukrainian army.

05.05.2025

11:57

Ryazan Oblast

Sofia Ivanova, coordinator of the “Golos” movement in Ryazan, had a single kopeck confiscated; the authorities considered the money to be the activist’s income and transferred it to her “special account” as a so-called “foreign agent.” Ivanova herself told Novaya Gazeta about this.

The single kopeck was a bank interest payment on 1,000 rubles (about US$11) that had been sitting for several years in Ivanova’s savings account at Sberbank.

The activist points out that she did not set up the “special account” herself. In addition to the kopeck, just over 10 rubles (about US$0.11) from another account was transferred there.

The Ministry of Justice added Sofia Ivanova to the “foreign agent” register on 29 September 2021. The grounds for Ivanova’s inclusion in the list were 500 rubles (about US$5.50) received from a citizen of Uzbekistan and 15 reposts on social media of materials from Meduza, Radio Free Europe, and other media outlets.

In December 2024, Putin signed a law stating that “foreign agents’” income from the sale or rental of real estate or vehicles, as well as from dividends and interest on deposits, must be paid into special rouble accounts. The same applies to fees “from the use of the results of intellectual activity and brands.” They will only be able to use these funds after they are removed from the “foreign agent” register.

17.04.2025

11:37

Novosibirsk Oblast

The Kirovsky District Court in Novosibirsk, a major city in Siberia, has fined former deputy Svetlana Kaverzina 100,000 roubles (approximately US$1,100) for violating “foreign agent” legislation. Kaverzina’s lawyer, Olga Nechaeva, informed OVD-Info of the ruling.

On 17 April, the court found the ex-deputy guilty of failing to self-report as a “foreign agent” (Part 1, Art. 19.34 of the Administrative Code). According to Nechaeva, Kaverzina was prosecuted as the head of “Novosibirsk 2020 Coalition”—an independent association of opposition politicians and public figures in Novosibirsk.

The Ministry of Justice claimed that the “Novosibirsk 2020 Coalition” “conducts political activity, disseminates information and materials intended for an unlimited audience, while under foreign influence.” The agency believes Kaverzina should have submitted a statement declaring her “intention to operate as a foreign agent before beginning such activity.”

The former deputy stated:

“If I seriously answer the question: ‘Who leads the Coalition? ,’ the answer is simple, really: divine providence. Somehow, everything always comes together without any special effort, no one does anything in particular, it just happens on its own. Really, without divine providence, there’s no other way to explain how the Coalition survives.”

Olga Nechaeva noted that the court imposed the minimum possible fine on Svetlana Kaverzina.

The Ministry of Justice designated the “Novosibirsk 2020 Coalition” as a “foreign agent” in August 2024. The agency stated that its members include former Novosibirsk deputies Svetlana Kaverzina, Anton Kartavin, Helga Pirogova, and Sergey Boyko. Several months before this, the Ministry of Justice had designated all four as “foreign agents.” Later, Kaverzina and Kartavin were stripped of their mandates due to their “foreign agent” status.

11.04.2025

14:32

The Butyrsky District Court in Moscow has fined rapper Ligalize (Andrey Menshikov) 50,000 roubles (US$550) for failing to remove a link to his joint music video with Mr Freeman, who has been designated a “foreign agent.” This was reported by the press service of the capital’s courts and highlighted by Mediazona.

Ligalize was found guilty under the article for failing to comply with a warning to remedy a violation of the “foreign agents” law (Part 42 Article 19.5 of the Code of Administrative Offences).

In June 2023, animator Pavel Muntyan, known as Mr Freeman, released a music video for Ligalize’s song “Peace! To Your! Home!.” The video contains real footage of Russian soldiers and destruction in Ukraine. In Russia, access to the video has been blocked.

Ligalize posted a link to the video on his Telegram channel. In autumn 2024, the rapper was issued a warning demanding that he delete the post because it did not mention Pavel Muntyan’s “foreign agent” status. When he failed to remove the link, an administrative case was opened against him.

Pavel Muntyan, who is currently in exile, was designated a “foreign agent” in April 2023. He was arrested in absentia on charges of spreading military “fake news.” Ligalize himself was declared a “foreign agent” at the end of 2024.

10.04.2025

12:14

At least 26 accounts belonging to “foreign agents” have been blocked on the Boosty fundraising platform. This was reported by the outlet Verstka.

Links to these accounts are listed in the Ministry of Justice’s “foreign agent” registry. In total, the ministry’s list provides 53 links to accounts belonging to individuals and organisations labelled as “foreign agents.”

According to Verstka, in the first half of April, accounts belonging to journalists Tatyana Felgengauer and Masha Borzunova, sports commentator Alexander Shmurnov, columnist Yulia Latynina, comedian Mikhail Schatz, the media outlet ASTRA, activist Darya Heikinen, and film critic Anton Dolin were among those blocked.

The politician Elvira Vikhareva was the first to write about the mass blocking of “foreign agent” accounts on Boosty on 8 April.

ASTRA reported on its Telegram channel that Boosty blocked the outlet’s account twice, causing two staff members to lose their pay. The platform explained to the outlet that the blocking was connected to clause 8.6 of Boosty’s agreement.

“Clause 8.6 of the agreement states that the service may delete a user’s account ‘to comply with applicable law or procedure or at the request of a court, law enforcement agency or other administrative or state authority,’ <…> or if you ‘provided inaccurate, fraudulent, outdated, or incomplete information during registration or afterwards,’ or if ‘the company has received complaints about your performance or behaviour,’” Astra quotes the service’s explanatory comment.

09.04.2025

10:04

Russia

The donation collection service Boosty is blocking the pages of ‘foreign agents,’ reported politician Elvira Vikhareva.

“It seems that Boosty is having quite the ‘foreign agent’ day: besides me, pages of at least three other comrades in misfortune have also been blocked. I think there are actually more,” she wrote on her Telegram channel.

According to SOTA, in addition to Vikhareva’s page, the platform has also made unavailable the page of journalist Sergey Auslender. The service has not stated the reasons for the blocks.

Previously, at the demand of Roskomnadzor, Boosty blocked the account of the outlet “To Be Continued” and the donation page of the independent publication “Discourse.”

12:15 Boosty is blocking pages because it complies with Russian law on “foreign agents.” Elvira Vikhareva published a response from the service with this information.

The blocks are connected to a new law regulating how “foreign agents” receive and use funds. “Since the service supports payment methods inside Russia, the platform has been forced to introduce certain changes dictated by this law,” the service said in its response.

The service requires “foreign agents” to forgo closed paid posts and to collect donations as charitable gifts. “You must not write ‘Content purchase,’ ‘Access to closed content,’ ‘Access to exclusive issues,’ or ‘Access to restricted materials,’ ‘ the service administration wrote.

In addition, “Angry Chuvashiya” announced that it has deleted its Boosty page. “Unfortunately, the new changes in Russian law have also affected Boosty’s usage rules. Ninety per cent of our options on the platform have been closed. We’ve made the difficult decision to close our page,” the project wrote.

30.03.2025

14:54

Chelyabinsk Oblast

The Uvelsky District Court in Chelyabinsk Region has fined Yuri Gurman, co-chair of the Golos movement, 40,000 roubles (about US$440) for a speech at a public hearing in which he failed to state that he has been declared a “foreign agent” by the authorities. This was reported by 7×7, which noted a post from the court’s press service.

Gurman was found guilty of failing to declare his “foreign agent” status (Article 19.34, part 3 of the administrative offences code).

The court stated that in November 2024, Gurman spoke at a public hearing for residents of Khomutinino—a village in the region—attended by more than 100 people. He addressed the heads of Uvelsky municipal district and Khomutininskoye rural settlement, but “did not state his foreign agent status.”

The hearing discussed the issue of merging rural settlements in Uvelsky district in order to convert it into a municipal district. In the end, the majority of participants voted in favour of the merger.

25.03.2025

09:57

Moscow

In just one day, the Tagansky District Court in Moscow received seven administrative offence protocols concerning violations of the “foreign agent” legislation, OVD-Info has noted.

On 24 March, the court registered three administrative protocols for the absence of a label identifying materials as belonging to a “foreign agent” (Part 4, Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code). These were filed against Olga Romanova, head of the Rus’ Sidyashchaya foundation, blogger Darya Bogdanova (known as “Pepel Klaasa”), and journalist Andrey Soldatov. Previously, the Ministry of Justice had designated all three as “foreign agents.”

A further four administrative protocols were drawn up under the article concerning the absence of “foreign agent” labelling in materials from a participant or head of a public association or legal entity listed in the “foreign agent” register (Part 5, Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code). These were issued to one of the creators of the media outlet Ateo, Grigory Ozerov; journalist Dmitry Kovalenko, whom the Ministry of Justice regards as the author of the Nezygar channel; journalist Maria Volokh, whom the Ministry links to the “Mozhem Obyasnit” project; and Elizaveta Tsybulina, whom the Ministry considers a participant in the human rights project “First Department.”

The court hearings for these administrative offence protocols have not yet been scheduled.

Last week, on 19 March, Moscow courts received 13 administrative offence protocols at once, also for violations of the “foreign agent” legislation.

20.03.2025

13:13

On 19 March, numerous reports of violations of the “foreign agent” legislation were filed with Moscow courts, as noted by OVD-Info.

The Khamovnichesky District Court received a case concerning the lawyer Elena Lukyanova.

The Tagansky District Court registered cases concerning journalist Mikhail Zygar, participant in the “Freedom of Russia” Legion Alexei Baranovsky, the head of “First Department,” Dmitry Zair-Bek, journalist Alisher Adbulaev, Anti-Corruption Foundation staff member Maria Pevchikh, politician Mikhail Khodorkovsky, sex educator Sasha Kazantseva, journalist Igor Yakovenko, blogger Yury Dud, journalist Renat Davletgildeev, historian Konstantin Pakhalyuk, and comedian Semyon Slepakov.

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Fines, charges and pressure over violations of ‘foreign agent’ legislation