Russia: Putin orders to consider ways to remove organizations from foreign agent list

Putin

MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has handed down instructions to analyze the country’s foreign agent legislation by May 1, according to a document published on the Kremlin website on Saturday.

"The Russian Justice Ministry, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights should analyze Russian laws regulating the activities of non-profit organizations acting as foreign agents, including ways to remove them from the foreign agent list," the document reads.

The president also ordered "to analyze provisions regulating the activities of media outlets acting as foreign agents, together with Roskomnadzor (Russia’s telecom watchdog - TASS), the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights and the all-Russia public organization The Union of Journalists of Russia."

According to the document, proposals on improving the laws should be presented if necessary.

These issues were discussed at a meeting of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights in late 2021 with Putin emphasizing the need to treat such sensitive issues carefully.