Paper found in a search can become evidence: keep it carefully.
← What happened
I've been designated a foreign agent
Right now
- Check with a lawyer now: a criminal case may follow a single administrative fine.
- Label every piece of content and file reports on time.
- Discuss with a lawyer whether to challenge the status in court.
Who helps (2) ↓Every organisation on this page has a designation: read the note on its card before writing.
Draft: not yet checked by a lawyer
The guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.
Draft What human rights defenders advise
You've been designated a foreign agent
- The status is assigned by the Ministry of Justice and can be challenged in court. Since spring 2025 the grounds include not just foreign funding but a vague 'foreign influence'.
- A foreign agent must label all their material and file reports with the Ministry. If the status was given for media activity, a Russian legal entity has to be set up within a month.
- Under the 2025 amendments a criminal case under art. 330.1 CC may be possible after a single administrative fine. Check this with a lawyer, and do it straight away.
- Since 1 March 2025, income from renting or selling property, interest, dividends and royalties goes to a special account that cannot be used until the status is lifted.
- Foreign agents may not teach, run educational activities, organise public events or make content for children. Where to turn: Mass Media Defence Centre, First Department.
current as of 25 September 2026.
More: OVD-Info: how the foreign agent law works (extremist); First Department: foreign agents' special accounts (foreign agent); Radio Liberty: what awaits foreign agents in 2026 (undesirable)
Who helps
2 organisations
Lawyers for treason, espionage, state secrets and extremism cases, including closed trials. Advice on digital security.
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