MOSCOW – Russian authorities on Thursday designated a member of the punk group Pussy Riot, a satirist writer and an art collector as a “foreign spy,” part of an effort to stop it. different opinions.
The Justice Department applied the label to Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a Pussy Riot member who became widely known for participating in a 2012 protest inside the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, where she later served time in prison near two years.
Journalist and satirical writer Viktor Shenderovich and art collector Marat Gelman were also awarded the label, along with several others.
The label “foreign agent” implies additional government surveillance and carries strong insults that could discredit the recipient. Russian authorities have applied this designation to a variety of media, civil society groups and individuals, putting pressure on critics of the Kremlin.
Those designated as “foreign agents” must add a lengthy statement to newsletters, social media posts and other documents stating that the content was created by a “foreign agent.” .
Earlier this week, a Russian court on Tuesday shut down the country’s oldest and most famous human rights group, Memorial, on the grounds that it did not identify itself as a “foreign agent”.
Tolokonnikova tweeted that she would not comply with the requirement to mark her posts with the designation “foreign agent”. She said she would oppose the authorities’ decision in court, concluding: “Russia will be free.”
.
