The Russian government has designated several high-profile individuals, including a former presidential hopeful and a prisoner rights advocate, as “foreign agents” in a crackdown on dissent in the country. This move comes as part of a broader campaign of repression that has escalated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The label of “foreign agent” carries additional government scrutiny and aims to discredit those named.
Among those designated as “foreign agents” are Yekaterina Duntsova, who was barred from running against President Vladimir Putin in the 2024 election, prisoner rights advocate Maria Litvinovich, and the Way Home movement that advocates for bringing mobilized Russian soldiers back from Ukraine. This crackdown on dissent has targeted not only opposition figures but anyone who has spoken out against the war in Ukraine.
Duntsova has been an advocate for peace in Ukraine, while Litvinovich has been vocal in her anti-war stance. The Way Home movement, along with its member Maria Andreyeva, has staged protests in Moscow calling for the discharge of reservists called up in the 2022 “partial mobilization.” The Russian government’s actions highlight the increasing restrictions on freedom of speech and dissent in the country, particularly in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine.
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