The field for manipulation and pressure on those who disagree with the regime in Russia may become even wider.
The State Duma of Russia has developed a bill” On control over the activities of persons under foreign influence “, which proposes to change the rules of recognition foreign agents , reports RBC .
The new law will allow foreign agents and those who do not receive foreign funding, as well as commercial companies, if their activities are recognized as political.
It is proposed to consider as a foreign agent those who “receive support and (or) are under foreign influence in other forms” and carry out political and information activities (collects information in the field of military-technical activities of Russia; publicly disseminates information or participates in creating this information) .
It is proposed to consider “foreign influence” to provide a person with support from a foreign source (for example, the authorities of another state, international organizations), influence on this person, “including through coercion, persuasion”, and other ways. “Support from a foreign source” means receiving funding, organizational and methodological, scientific and technical assistance, assistance in other forms (ie a wide field for manipulation).
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“Suppose a person has been trained abroad on how to organize unauthorized rallies and organizes such unauthorized events, ie political activity in Russia, this may be grounds for recognizing him as a foreign agent,” – explained in the State Duma.
The rule that allows anyone to be recognized as a foreign agent without receiving funding and assistance, already exists in the law “On measures to influence persons involved in violations of fundamental rights and human freedoms… ”and applies only to natural persons, regardless of their nationality (it does not currently apply to natural persons who are recognized as foreign media agents). It is now proposed to apply this rule to all categories of foreign agents.
The law on foreign agents was adopted in Russia in 2012. It allows to recognize as a “foreign agent” any non-profit organization that has received financial support from abroad and conducts, according to the authorities, political activity. Due to the fact that the law does not define clear criteria for such activities, the Russian authorities may put pressure, for example, on the independent media. Subsequently, the law was strengthened by extending its effect to individuals.
