An initial foreign agent law wa sadopted by Russia in 2012, giving authorities the power to label non-governmental organizations and human rights groups as foreign agents – a term that carries a negative Soviet-era connotations. Several rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, had called for the initiative to be dropped as it was being approved by lawmakers. The law also says that any individual who distributes foreign media could be labeled a foreign agent. Rights groups and other organizations designated by the Russian justice ministry as foreign agents can be subjected to spot checks and face bureaucratic scrutiny. Russian law also requires so-called foreign agents to submit regular reports on their funding, objectives, how they spend their money and who their managers are.

Source: National Post December 02, 2019 18:44 UTC