Russian Ministry of Justice published unified register of persons and entities declared as foreign agents.
The document has been published in PDF format. The combined 15-page record shows data from 493 organizations and citizens..
Now, a list would include both people recognized as media-foreign agents and individuals-foreign agents, and legal structures—media, foundations, and nonprofits.
The record contains more personal data: for individuals, the dates of birth are additionally indicated, and for legal entities – PSRN and TIN. The table also shows the basis for inclusion and the date of the inclusion decision. The table provides the possibility to enter the SNILS number and location address, but so far these fields have not been filled.
The list also contains links to Internet resources of some legal entities, to the names and addresses of members of such organizations.
“Given that the law provides for a number of prohibitions for foreign agents who, among other things, may be individuals, data will be published to accurately identify such persons (date of birth, TIN, SNILS),” the ministry said.
As the Ministry of Justice noted, the registry is in the public domain on the ministry’s website with the amount of information determined by the Russian government.
In a simplified way, citizens included in the list for the first time can leave the registry. The decision on this matter is made in a shorter time by the Minister of Justice or his deputy upon application.
More positions from foreign agents
As human rights activist and lawyer Pavel Chikov points out, the registry still includes those recognized as foreign agents, but that status was later removed – there are dates of delisting. In this regard, it turned out that the total number of entries in the registry is more than the current list of foreign agents.
Konstantin Dobrynin, senior partner of the Pen and Paper Bar Association, told RBC that the unauthorized publication of a person’s personal data in open sources violates the privacy guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation. He also pointed out that the new norm is against the principle of equality of all before the law.
By contrast, Igor Semenovsky, a senior lecturer at the government-run Finance University, told RBC that the activities of foreign agents are public and political, and that the purpose of the Constitution is to protect personal data “primarily in the context of private life of individuals.”
The amendments were criticized by the Presidential Human Rights Council at the drafting stage. According to HRC members, the list of those who can be recognized as foreign agents is expanding “in fact unreasonably”, violating labor law and curtailing constitutional rights. In particular, the document effectively closes the foreign agent’s access to professions in the field of education.
By December 1, the Justice Department had kept four records, including foreign agents. These were the records of the mass media, NGOs, individuals and unregistered non-governmental organisations. The updated record was published on the day the federal law “On Control of the Activities of Persons Under Foreign Influence” came into force.
According to this document, Any person or organization that has received external support or is under “external influence” can become a foreign agent.. Previously, the prerequisite for recognition as a foreign agent was the fact of foreign financing.
A register of persons associated with foreign agents is also established. Affiliate is a person who is a member of the bodies of a legal entity or public body recognized as a foreign agent.
The status of a foreign agent arose in 2012 with amendments to the legislation of the Russian Federation on NGOs. It has been assigned to the media since 2017 and to individuals since 2020. This obliges them to report to the authorities on their activities and expenditures and to label all public messages. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in penalties.
In addition, foreign agents cannot organize public events, conduct education and training activities among minors, produce information products for them, receive funds and grants from the government, participate in the purchase of goods and services to meet municipal and state needs.