Russia to curb income of 'foreign agents' and those who leave, lawmaker says

Moscow — 

Russia plans to importantly tighten the rules governing the income received by those deemed "foreign agents" and of those who talk negatively astir Russia aft leaving the country, the talker of the Russian parliament said connected Thursday.

Russian instrumentality requires immoderate idiosyncratic oregon enactment receiving enactment from extracurricular Russia oregon who is nether overseas power to registry arsenic a "foreign agent," a statement that has antagonistic Soviet-era connotations and brings onerous bureaucratic requirements.

Russia says the instrumentality is little strict than the 1938 U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act, though the Russian instrumentality has been applied to astir each of the leaders of the divided absorption and is considered by immoderate dissidents to beryllium a badge of honor.

Vyacheslav Volodin, the talker of the little location of the Russian parliament, said that the Duma was moving connected tightening the rules implicit copyright and intelligence rights payments to overseas agents by forcing them to usage peculiar ruble accounts for specified payments.

The rules would screen each income from intelligence enactment and brands, including works of science, lit and art, performances, broadcasting, inventions and trademarks.

"Those who destruct Russia by insulting its citizens, the participants of the peculiar subject operation, should not enrich themselves astatine the disbursal of our country," Volodin, who often floats Kremlin-backed initiatives, said connected Telegram.

Russia officially presents the warfare successful Ukraine arsenic a "special subject operation," though galore Russian officials including President Vladimir Putin often besides notation to it arsenic a war.

Volodin added that Russia was moving connected measures to tighten the rules implicit the income of those radical not classed arsenic overseas agents but who person near Russia and talk negatively astir Russia.

A full of 881 radical and organizations are listed arsenic overseas agents by the Russian justness ministry, including erstwhile billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Nobel prize victor Dmitry Muratov and salient YouTube blogger Yuri Dud.

Supporters of Putin accidental the overseas cause instrumentality is indispensable to antagonistic Western attempts to meddle successful Russia's home affairs amid what Putin casts arsenic a proxy warfare successful Ukraine betwixt Russia and the West.

Russian officials accidental that the pro-Western taste elite which grew up aft the 1991 autumn of the Soviet Union is being cleared retired and replaced by patriotic singers, writers and artists who volition guarantee Russia remains sovereign.

Opponents of Putin accidental the instrumentality is portion of an intricate strategy of repression which has turned Russia into a brittle authoritarian authorities successful which legendary Russian creator and technological creativity is stifled.