Russia’s Justice Ministry Designates The Moscow Times Newspaper As ‘Foreign Agent’

Moscow: The Moscow Times, an online newspaper in English and Russian-language, has been designated as a ‘foreign agent’ by Russia’s Justice ministry, the organisation said.

The ‘foreign agent’ designation requires media outlets and journalists to place a disclaimer on articles they publish and imposes strict financial reporting and self-disclosure requirements.

The Justice ministry accused The Moscow Times of publishing inaccurate information about decisions taken by the authorities, thus portraying a negative image of Russia.

The Moscow Times claimed on its website that the ‘foreign agent’ legislation had been “disproportionately used to target independent journalists, activists and NGOs in recent years.”

“The (Justice) ministry’s foreign agent registry lists the websites of MT’s English and Russian-language editions — as well as its social media pages, including on LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Telegram — as subject to restrictions,” the publication added.

Its website had already been blocked in Russia by state communications regulator Roskomnadzor.