Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed a law allowing the Ministry of justice of the Russian Federation to recognize the media «foreign agents», if the latter are financed from foreign sources. The instrument applies to those media that receive any property from abroad, and those that are funded by the Russian legal entities and in turn receive financial support from abroad.
The law does not apply to Russian editions and TV channels.
The document does not imply the termination of activity of mass media, but he will oblige the latter to affix labeling to their published materials, as well as to provide the government of the Russian Federation reports on their activities.
The law was adopted after the approval of the upper house of the State Duma in response to the recognition of the Russian TV channel RT as a foreign agent in the United States. Last week, without waiting for the signing of the law and its entry into force, the Ministry of justice has already warned funded by US government TV and radio companies, as well as their regional offices of «Voice of America» and «Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty» about the need to register as a foreign agent in accordance with the new law.
