Russian authorities on Friday designated Nobel Prize-winning journalist Dmitry Muratov as a “foreign agent.” Moscow’s labeling of foreign agents is often applied to critics of Kremlin policies.
Russian news agencies, citing the Justice Ministry, reported Muratov, editor of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and one of the recipients of the 2021 Nobel peace prize, was one of several Russian citizens added to the country’s blacklist.
So-called foreign agents have been subject to police searches and other punitive measures. Even though Muratov is still in Russia, many people on the list have chosen to leave the country since the Ukrainian invasion erupted in February 2021.
The Justice Ministry said Muratov “created and disseminated materials (produced by) foreign agents and used them to spread negative opinions regarding Russia’s foreign and domestic policies on international platforms.”
Under Russian law, individuals and organizations that receive funding from abroad can be declared foreign agents, potentially lowering their credibility in the eyes of the Russian public. Those considered foreign agents must mark their published works with a disclaimer stating their status.
Novaya Gazeta and Muratov earned a reputation abroad for investigative reporting that was often critical of the Kremlin.
Muratov then auctioned off his Nobel medal and said that $103.5 million or the equivalent of IDR 1.58 trillion would be used to help refugee children from Ukraine.
Novaya Gazeta ceased publication in 2022 in response to a law imposing harsh penalties for discrediting Ukrainian military operations and the Russian army. Many of the media’s journalists finally reunited with a new publication in Latvia.
Among the other Russian citizens added to the list of foreign agents on Friday were another journalist who wrote articles supporting Ukraine, a comedian who opposed the war and a historian from Chechnya, where Russia crushed rebels in two post-Soviet wars. .
Several dissident figures in Russia have been jailed, including anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny. (ah/ft)