Russia: independent Dojd television classified as "foreign agent"

A reporter for independent Russian television Dojd in Moscow, August 20, 2021. AP - Denis Kaminev

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

At the very moment when Angela Merkel asked this Friday August 20 in Moscow for the release of the opponent Alexeï Navalny, the Russian justice added the Dojd television channel to its list of " 

foreign agents

 ".

It was one of the last independent media in the country that still escaped this name.

Advertising

Read more

With our correspondent in Moscow,

Jean-Didier Revoin

From now on, Dojd will have to submit to rigorous financial control and present itself officially as a “foreign agent” in all its publications, including websites and social networks.

This designation is reserved for entities or individuals who are politically active in Russia and who receive all or part of their funding from abroad.

A negative qualification dating from the Soviet era which often results in the withdrawal of advertisers.

Advertising on a foreign agent is frowned upon, especially by state-owned enterprises, which most of the time cut off their relations with such a partner.

In recent months, several other mainstream and independent investigative media have suffered the same fate, such as VTimes, Meduza, The Insider and Open Media.

And this week, the

same treatment was inflicted on Golos, a voter rights NGO

that claims to be the only independent election observation body in Russia.

An additional hardening exercised by the power, before the legislative elections of next month.

► 

See also: On a farewell visit to Moscow, Merkel calls for the release of Navalny

Newsletter

Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • Russia

  • Media

  • Freedom of press

On the same subject

Russia: Moscow attacks an election monitoring NGO one month before the legislative elections

Russian opponent Alexei Navalny calls on Westerners to fight corruption

On a farewell visit to Moscow, Merkel calls for Navalny's release