Russia Law on Foreign Agents

The State Duma on Thursday adopted immediately in the second and third readings of a bill on strengthening control over the implementation of Russian legislation on foreign agents.

The new rules, among other things, allow for unscheduled inspections of persons interacting with foreign agents and violating the legislation of the Russian Federation on foreign agents.

The Duma adopted a law allowing unscheduled inspections of persons interacting with foreign agents

The Ministry of Justice is assigned the authority to exercise state control over compliance with the legislation on foreign agents

The State Duma at a plenary session on Thursday adopted immediately in the second and third readings a bill on strengthening control over the implementation of Russian legislation on foreign agents. The new rules, among other things, allow for unscheduled inspections of persons interacting with foreign agents and violating the legislation of the Russian Federation on foreign agents.

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Foreign agents in Russian law. History of status and its application

The document was submitted to the chamber for consideration by members of the State Duma commission to investigate the facts of interference by foreign states in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation in April, and the Duma adopted it in the first reading in June. Amendments are being made to the law “On Control over the Activities of Persons Under Foreign Influence”. Thus, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation is assigned the authority to exercise state control over compliance with the legislation on foreign agents.

The law is also supplemented by a new rule, according to which unscheduled checks can be carried out not only with regard to the foreign agents themselves, as it is established today, but also in relation to persons who interact with them. The basis for such inspections may be information received by the Ministry of Justice that public authorities, organizations of all forms of ownership, as well as officials or individuals, regardless of their citizenship, violate the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation on foreign agents.

Vasily Piskarev, head of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, clarified that these are unscheduled inspections of those who help foreign agents “bypass the requirements of the law.”

As Piskarev noted earlier, the application of the legislation on foreign agents “showed that the restrictions and obligations provided for foreign agents can be easily circumvented with the help of persons with whom foreign agents interact.” In this regard, the document obliges public authorities, organizations of all forms of ownership, as well as officials and individuals to take into account in their activities the restrictions that are associated with the status of a foreign agent. It is also indicated that the actions or inaction of such persons should not contribute to the violation by the foreign agent of the legislation of the Russian Federation.

The law also establishes a ban on the receipt by foreign agents of state financial or other property support, including when carrying out creative activities. As Piskarev pointed out earlier, today it is forbidden for foreign agents to receive only financial support from the state. “Budget funds should be spent exclusively in the interests of our people, and not to weaken Russia and achieve the goals of other states that are alien to us,” the deputy stressed.

According to him, the new norms “consistently encourage citizens and organizations, media that are under foreign influence and promote the interests of other states” to comply with the laws of the Russian Federation.