The Russian authorities on Friday declared a former presidential hopeful, a prominent human rights advocate and several others to be “foreign agents,” the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent in Russia that has reached new heights since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine. Russia introduced the label in 2012, following mass antigovernment protests that authorities alleged were fueled by foreign influence.
Prisoner rights advocate Maria Litvinovich; the Way Home movement that campaigns for bringing mobilized Russian soldiers back from Ukraine and its active member Maria Andreyeva, as well as two critical news outlets were also listed. The Kremlin's campaign of repression reached new heights following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.