The Moscow Basmanny Court issued a fine to the singer Monetochka, who is known in Russia as a foreign agent under her real name Elizaveta Gyrdymova, for failing to mark a video interview with Mikhail Shats with the foreign agent label. The court’s decision highlights the ongoing enforcement of the foreign agent designation in media content and the penalties that can follow for noncompliance. The report on the case comes from TASS, the Russian state news agency.
As of June 20, reports indicated that a protocol had been drawn up against Monetochka for not flagging the foreign agent status in the referenced material. This development underscores the administrative procedures used to enforce labeling rules and the potential consequences for public figures who appear in media without proper designation.
On June 16, the Basmanny Court in Moscow fined Monetochka the amount of 30,000 rubles for the lack of a foreign agent tag in the interview. The court’s ruling reflects the strict application of the labeling requirement to online content featuring individuals designated as foreign agents by the authorities.
Earlier, on May 10, it was reported that a protocol had been prepared concerning Monetochka due to the absence of the foreign agent sign in various publications. The sequence of events shows repeated checks by authorities across different media outputs involving Monetochka and the enforcement of the labeling policy.
In a separate matter, a former star lawyer, Andrey Aleshkin, stated that the humorist Semyon Slepakov, who is also designated as a foreign agent in Russia, faces restrictions on selling his Moscow apartment because of his foreign agent status. The comment reflects how the foreign agent designation can extend beyond media appearances and into property transactions when linked to individuals labeled by the state.
Earlier reports also noted an incident in the Tula region, where a karaoke venue refused to allow a song from a list of groups that had been blacklisted. The incident illustrates how the foreign agent framework is perceived and applied in various cultural spaces, including live performances and public entertainment. [citation: TASS]