Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday congratulated journalist Dmitry Muratov, whose Novaya Gazeta newspaper has at times been a thorn in the side of the Kremlin, on winning the Nobel Peace Prize, over a week after the prize was announced.

Addressing Muratov at a question-and-answer session with journalists and Russia experts, Putin congratulated him on the prize and on his “noble work” on behalf of a hospice charity.

Journalists Muratov and Maria Ressa, who braved the wrath of the leaders of Russia and the Philippines to expose corruption and misrule, won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 8, in an endorsement of free speech under fire worldwide.

Putin said on Thursday that authorities will review a law under which dozens of news outlets and reporters have been labelled as “foreign agents”, which critics see as a tool for stifling dissent.

Putin said he would look into the “fuzzy criteria” under which media are added to the list. The “foreign agent” tag is used to designate what authorities say are foreign-funded organisations engaged in political activity. It carries highly negative Soviet-era overtones and has prompted some media to shut down after sponsors and advertisers withdrew their support.