Russia labels seven U.S.-government-funded media outlets as foreign agents

The Russian Justice Ministry has formally added the independent U.S.-government-funded media outlets Voice of America, Radio Liberty, and seven RFE/RL projects to its list of foreign agents.

According to amendments adopted last month, empowering officials to add media outlets to its foreign agents list, these publications are now required to report quarterly to the Justice Ministry and label their content as the work of a foreign agent. Russian Senator Andrey Klimov says the government currently has no plans to add more media outlets to its list. “Our measures were an absolutely reciprocal response to the harassment of the Russian mass media in the U.S.,” he said.

The seven RFE/RL projects are Current Time, AzatliqRadiosi, Sibir.Realii, Idel.Realii, Polygraph, Kavkaz.Realii, and Krym.Realii.

Bylaws now under consideration would raise repeated violations of Russia’s foreign agents law to as much as 5 million rubles ($85,200).

In mid-November, T & R Productions LLC (RT’s American subsidiary) complied with orders from the Justice Department and formally registered as a foreign agent in the United States. The U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act is typically applied to organizations that conduct lobbying on behalf of a foreign state.

After RT’s FARA registration, the U.S. Congressional Office revoked its Capitol Hill press credentials. Lawmakers in the State Duma and Federation Council say they will respond by revoking all foreign-agent American journalists’ credentials to report inside the Russian Parliament.