During a public conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 21, Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dmitry Muratov complained that Russia’s “foreign agent” legislation is enforced “extrajudicially,” prompting the president’s latest comparison to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in the United States, which the Kremlin (inaccurately) calls “analogous.” Putin went on to argue that FARA is even harsher legislation than the regulations Russia recently began imposing on so-called “foreign agents.” Notably, the president claimed that “foreign agents” risk felony charges in the U.S. but not in Russia. Mr. Putin is mistaken.
Meduza: Putin says there are no felony penalties for ‘foreign agent’ noncompliance
Police officers detain a journalist who holds a placard which reads "We don't stop being journalists" during a single picquet of solidarity with collegues who were added to the list of "foreign agent" media near the headquarters of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in Moscow on Aug. 21, 2021.
