Russian authorities on Friday designated Nobel Prize-winning journalist Dmitry Muratov as a “foreign agent”, a move often aimed at critics of Kremlin policies.

Russian news agencies quoted the justice ministry as saying Muratov, editor of
the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper and a co-laureate of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, was one of several Russian nationals added to the list.

So-called foreign agents have been subjected to police searches and other punitive measures. While Muratov is still in Russia, many on the list have left the country since the February 2021 invasion of Ukraine, dubbed a “special military operation” by the Kremlin.

The justice ministry said Muratov “created and disseminated material (produced by) foreign agents and used it to spread negative opinions of Russia’s foreign and domestic policies on international platforms”.

Under Russian law, individuals and organisations receiving funding from abroad can be declared foreign agents.

Reuters