BBC: half of the Russians included in the register of foreign agents emigrated from the country

In total, from December 28, 2020 to December 30, 2021, 75 Russians were included in the register of foreign agents, including 41 journalists, the rest are people of other professions. Most of them are residents of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, as well as Vladivostok, Samara, Pskov and other large cities.

Of the 75 people included in the register, 32 people were forced to leave the country after receiving the status of a foreign agent, or before it. Before receiving such a status, six journalists and eight people of other specialties emigrated. They note that they were forced to leave the country, as they were under pressure even before being entered into the register of foreign agents. At the same time, only one interlocutor of the publication plans to go back this year.

After receiving the status of a foreign agent, 13 more journalists and five people of other professions have already left the country or are going to do so in the near future. 42 people who were previously included in the register of foreign agents remain in the country.

One of the journalists, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that he was forced to leave the country, as the “foreign agency”, according to him, opens the way to criminal prosecution. The Ministry of Justice requires quarterly reporting on expenses, but the department does not give any explanation on how to fill out this reporting. The journalist feared fines and criminal prosecution for incorrect reports. In addition, law enforcement agencies and "incomprehensible criminal characters" became interested in his personality. He could not get a job, since most of the publications with which he collaborated had previously been recognized as either foreign agents or undesirable organizations. Cooperation with them is fraught with time.

The former coordinator of the Golos movement* (also included in the register of foreign agents) from Pskov Vladimir Zhilinsky* (included in the register of foreign agents) notes that he also emigrated because it is impossible to comply with the law on foreign agents, and non-compliance with it threatens a social worker with a colony.

Other foreign agents also went abroad - these are lawyers Ivan Pavlov* and Valeria Vetoshkina*, environmentalist and human rights activist Yevgeny Simonov*, LGBT activist and human rights activist Igor Kochetkov*, as well as members of the Pussy Riot group Nadezhda Tolokonnikova* and Veronika Nikulshina*, satirist Viktor Shenderovich *, publisher and producer Pyotr Verzilov* and gallery owner Marat Gelman*.

The publication Current Time* (recognized as a foreign agent) has calculated that compliance with the law on foreign agents annually costs at least 3.5 thousand dollars. This amount, in particular, includes the costs of lawyers helping to challenge the assignment of this status in court.

At the same time, almost every second foreign agent surveyed says that his financial situation has recently deteriorated significantly. Some "foreign agents" found themselves out of work altogether.

Human rights activist Lev Ponomarev*, who is also on the register of foreign agents, remained in Russia. He deals with issues of torture. He is ready to refuse funding from abroad, but the main difficulty in his work lies in the fact that it is extremely difficult to find funding inside the country.

The foreign agents who remained in Russia say that they will leave the country only in the event of a real threat to their life and health, or if a real threat of criminal prosecution hangs over them or their loved ones. Those who left Russia would like to return to the country in the future. However, the majority in emigration see the only way to live a quiet life.

* - entered in the register of foreign agents