Russian justice minister admits only 4% of ‘foreign agents’ registered last year received funding from abroad

Only 4% of Russians declared “foreign agents” last year were found to have received funding from abroad, according to Russia’s Deputy Justice Minister Oleg Sviridenko.

Speaking in the Russian parliament’s Federation Council on Thursday, Sviridenko noted that prior to 2022, proof of foreign financing was a prerequisite for receiving a “foreign agent” designation under Russian law.

If the previous standards were still applied today, Sviridenko said that only 4% of the foreign agents registered in 2025 would have met the criteria, adding that authorities “would be looking for money that doesn't exist.”

Independent news outlet IStories, citing data from human rights NGO OVD-Info, noted that the figure represents approximately nine of the 215 individuals and organisations added to the foreign agents register in 2025. The remaining 206 therefore received the designation under the broader criterion, introduced in 2022, of being “subject to other foreign influence”.

First introduced in 2012, Russia’s foreign agents law initially targeted larger organisations that received funding from outside the country, but has been expanded several times and is now regularly applied to media outlets or private citizens who criticise the Kremlin.

Although being labelled a “foreign agent” is not a criminal offence in itself, those who receive the designation cannot stand as candidates in elections, teach in state-funded schools and universities, or receive income from property or royalties.

Foreign agents are required to report all their activity and financing to the Justice Ministry on a regular basis. Since 2025, a single incidence of non-compliance can lead to criminal prosecution, punishable by up to two years in prison.

As of June 2026, 962 individuals and organisations have an active foreign agent status. Since the registry was expanded to include individuals in 2019, over 1200 Russians have featured on the list, which is updated each week on the Russian Justice Ministry website.