Russia

Russias Justice Ministry lacks the legal authority to label the Yeltsin Center as a "foreign agent," a lower-house lawmaker said Monday.Last week a senior Justice Ministry official said a preliminary investigation had been launched into the Yeltsin Center, a history museum and cultural center dedicated to the first Russian president Boris Yeltsin.According to State Duma deputy Andrei Alshevskikh, the Yeltsin Center is shielded from being labeled a foreign agent by Russias law on historical heritage centers of former Russian presidents."In the current situation, I see only one way out to amend the FL [federal law] and deprive the Yeltsin Center of these privileges, Alshevskikh wrote on his Telegram channel.And only after that...
will the authorities be able to conduct a full audit of the organization with all the resulting consequences, adding that he would discuss this initiative with his colleagues.Alshevskikh is a member of the ruling, pro-Kremlin United Russia party and represents the Sverdlovsk region where the Yeltsin Center is located in the State Duma.Founded by the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center nonprofit in Russias fourth-largest city of Yekaterinburg in 2015, the Yeltsin Center is billed as the countrys only museum celebrating democracy and the freedoms of the 1990s.It regularly hosts lectures, concerts, exhibitions and other events.The probe into designating the center a foreign agent is the latest in Russias widening clampdown on the opposition, independent media, pro-democracy groups and anti-war voices seen since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.Just one day after Russia sent troops into Ukraine, the Yeltsin Center released a statement calling for the military offensive to end immediately.Less than two months later, law enforcement officials forced the center to take down the anti-war statement.When asked in June 2022 if the center should be declared a foreign agent, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Yeltsin Center has indeed sparked broad debates and discussions within the public.Russia has labeled over 500 individuals and organizations including many opposition groups and activists as well as independent media outlets and journalists as "foreign agents since the law was first passed in 2012.The label, a stigmatizing term that carries negative connotations from the Cold War era, may be applied to any individual or group that receives funding from abroad or is deemed to have come under foreign influence.Labeled individuals and organizations are subject to rigorous financial reporting requirements and must attach a wordy disclaimer to all materials they publish, including social media posts.





Unlimited Portal Access + Monthly Magazine - 12 issues


Contribute US to Start Broadcasting - It's Voluntary!


ADVERTISE


Merchandise (Peace Series)

 


Lavrov Names Sanctions Relief and Return of Frozen Assets as Preconditions for Ukraine Ceasefire


[Russia] - Former Russian National Guard Official Arrested on Bribery, Abuse of Power Charges


[Russia] - Black Sea Oil Spill Reaches Abkhazia's Shores


[Russia] - Russian Anti-Terrorism Police Warn of Foreign Spying Disguised as Photo Contests


Russian Army Says It Seized First Village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk Region


[Russia] - Former Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit Found Dead With Gunshot Wound After Being Sacked by Putin


[Russia] - Russia Targets Emigres in Kazakhstan With Back Tax Demands


Ukrainian Drone Attacks Trigger Major Flight Disruptions at Russia’s Busiest Airports


[Russia] - New Details Emerge in Bribery Case Against Rusagro Founder


[Russia] - Far-Flung Kamchatka Peninsula Restricts Mobile Internet to Thwart Alleged Ukrainian Sabotage


Rosstat Stops Publishing Monthly Population Data Amid War Deaths, Demographic Crisis


[Russia] - Russian Gold Mining Tycoon Barred From Leaving Country Amid Nationalization Efforts


Putin Sacks Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit


[Russia] - Ukraine Says 4 Killed, Over 30 Wounded in Russian Strikes


Russia Says Captured 2 More East Ukraine Settlements in Donetsk and Kharkiv Regions


UN Condemns Russia's Largest Drone Assault on Ukraine


Trump Says He’s ‘Very Unhappy’ With Putin Call, Hints at New Sanctions


Russia Removes Peace Symbol from School Textbook Cover


[Russia] - Head of Moscow Region's Azerbaijani Diaspora Stripped of Russian Citizenship


Russia Adds 14-Year-Olds to ‘Terrorists and Extremists’ List


[Russia] - What Ukraine Is Missing as U.S. Holds Back Air Defense and Battlefield Weapons


[Russia] - Russian Firms Seek North Korean Translators to Support Influx of Workers


[Russia] - Dutch and German Intelligence Say Russia Increasingly Uses Chemical Weapons in Ukraine


[Russia] - Russia Carries Out 8th Prisoner Exchange With Ukraine Since Istanbul Talks


[Russia] - Professionals: Russia Recognizing Taliban Rule in Afghanistan Largely a Symbolic Move


Storm Batters St. Petersburg With High Winds, Rising Water Levels


St. Petersburg Naval Parade Canceled Over Security Concerns – Fontanka


[Russia] - Russian Car Market Expected to Contract by 24% This Year


[Russia] - Transneft Vice President Dies in Apparent Fall From Window, Reports Say


Russia Launches Largest Air Attack Since Invasion as Ukrainian Drone Strike Kills Woman in Rostov


Russia Becomes First Country to Recognize Taliban Government


Chechnya's Dependence on Federal Funding Hits New High


No Way Home: The Exiled Russian Speakers Fighting Their Own War in Syria


[Russia] - Russian Tycoons Earn Record $20 Billion in Dividends Amid Recession Worries


[Russia] - Russians Report Nighttime Police Raids in Azerbaijan as Tensions Flare


Former Kremlin-Backed Mayor of Luhansk Killed in Explosion


Putin Congratulates Trump on U.S. Independence Day During Hourlong Call


[Russia] - Russian-Made Jet Prices Soar as Moscow Struggles to Ditch Boeing and Airbus


Teen Facing Death Threats From Family Disappears in Ingushetia, Rights Group Says


Britain Links Azerbaijani Traders With Rosneft Ties to Russia’s Shadow Fleet


[Russia] - Russian Deputy Navy Commander Killed in Kursk Region


Russia Moves to Nationalize Country’s Third-Largest Gold Mining Firm


Orenburg Mayor Resigns to Continue Military Service in Ukraine


Durov Hints at Anti-Telegram Smear Campaign as Russia Readies Homegrown Competitor


FSB Arrests Woman Who Tried to Place Bomb Under Defense Worker’s SUV


[Russia] - Elderly Woman Killed in Ukrainian Drone Strike on Lipetsk Region


Emergency Contraceptives Disappear from Russian Pharmacies – Vyorstka


[Russia] - Putin Signs Decree Seeking to Lure Foreign Investors Into Russian Stock Market


Khakassia Governor Vetoes Local Government Reform Bill


[Russia] - From Plane Crash to Deadly Arrests: What's Behind the Russia-Azerbaijan Standoff


[Russia] - Kids of Russian Soldiers Increasingly Placed in State Care, Regional Officials Say


Russian Companies See Sharp Rise in Wage Arrears


Putin Praises Kyrgyzstan for ‘Special Status’ of Russian Language


Azerbaijani and Russian Investigators in ‘Constant Contact’ Amid Diplomatic Crisis


Russia’s Natural Gas Exports to Europe Plunge to Historic Lows


Security Forces Raid Russia's Third-Largest Gold Producer Over Environmental, Safety Violations


[Russia] - Kremlin Welcomes Halt in U.S. Arms Shipments to Ukraine


Fatal Car Crash Sparks Anti-Roma Protests in Saratov Region


Foreign Automakers Scale Back New Model Launches in Russia


Anti-War University Student in St. Petersburg Released From Prison


Russia Eyes Industrial Levy to Shield Domestic Producers and Plug Budget Gaps


[Russia] - Yekaterinburg Court Places 6 Azerbaijanis in Pre-Trial Detention Amid Cold-Case Probe


[Russia] - Macron Urges Ukraine Ceasefire in First Call With Putin Since 2022


[Russia] - Taliban Diplomat to Take Role as Moscow Ambassador


Russia’s VTB Reports Increase in Overdue Retail Loans


[Russia] - Kremlin Launches Online Bot Campaign to Defend Steep Utility Rate Increases


[Russia] - Su-34 Crashes During Training Flight in Central Russia


[Russia] - Russia to Disconnect Foreigners Who Have Not Submitted Biometric Data From Mobile Internet


[Russia] - Ex-Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison


Kremlin Dismisses Trump Envoy’s Claim That It Is Stalling Peace Talks


[Russia] - Russian Manufacturing Activity Sees Sharpest Decline Since Early Months of Ukraine Invasion


[Russia] - Azerbaijan Launches Murder Probe After Autopsy Finds Brothers Died From Beatings in Russian Police Custody


[Russia] - Russia's Top Ferroalloy Producer to Cut Workweek Amid Metallurgy Crisis


[Russia] - Russia Now Occupies All of Ukraine's Luhansk Region, Kremlin-Installed Official Says


[Russia] - Ukrainian Drone Attack on Izhevsk Kills 3 and Wounds Dozens More