State Duma deputy Vasily Piskarev proposed to punish persons helping foreign agents

The chairman of the State Duma commission to investigate the facts of foreign interference, Vasily Piskarev, proposed introducing liability for persons who help foreign agents evade the restrictions imposed by their status. In addition, as reported in the State Duma, the Ministry of Justice began to maintain a single register of individuals “affiliated with foreign agents.”

“We are talking about persons who help foreign agents to evade the fulfillment of duties and restrictions provided for by law,”— declared Mr. Piskarev after the meeting of the commission.

“We propose to make additions to the law that will allow the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation to first warn, for example, a publishing house, a bookstore or a school principal that a foreign agent is working for you. A warning is in effect for a month, and then administrative responsibility comes if measures are not taken,” he added.

The proposed amendments may be considered by the State Duma on June 20.

As a result of the meeting of the commission on foreign interference in its Telegram channel published a report on the activities of foreign agents. The report says that since December last year, the Ministry of Justice began maintaining a register of individuals “affiliated with foreign agents.” As of December 31, it contained information about 861 “affiliated” persons. The names of these persons are not given in the report.

As stated in the report, their activity “manifested itself during the preparation and conduct of elections of officials, deputies of legislative bodies and municipalities of the subjects.”

It also follows from the report that in 2022 the Ministry of Justice declared 188 people and legal entities as foreign agents – 42.6% more than a year earlier (108 names).

The law on the creation of a unified register of information about “foreign agents” and persons “affiliated” with them was adopted in Russia in March 2022. According to this law, heads and employees of organizations – “foreign agents” should be classified as “affiliated” persons. In December of the same year, new restrictions for foreign agents came into force, which prohibit them from working in the civil service, objects of “critical information infrastructure” and teaching for minors.

Anastasia Larina