On 10 April 2026, Russia鈥檚 Ministry of Justice Russian journalists Igor Sadreev and Natalya Kiseleva, as well as independent outlet MediaZona, as 鈥渇oreign agents鈥�. Authorities that they spread 鈥渇ake news 鈥� about the decisions of the Russian government, opposed Russia鈥檚 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and participated in the creation and dissemination of content created by other 鈥渇oreign agents鈥� as well as 鈥渦ndesirable organizations鈥�, among other accusations.
Igor Sadreev is known for his work for independent lifestyle news outlets in Moscow, such as Bolshoi Gorod and The Village, serving as editor-in-chief of the second outlet between 2011 and 2014. Since 2022, Sadreev has been living in exile in Berlin. As for Kiseleva, she worked for numerous Russian independent outlets, before emigrating to Germany in 2022 due to her opposition to the war in Ukraine, and continued to develop her own media projects since.
MediaZona is known as a major Russian independent news outlet, which mainly covers human rights abuses in Russia and monitors politically motivated repression of journalists and anti-Kremlin activists.
Initially adopted in 2012, Russia鈥檚 law on foreign agents has been revised several times over the past decade to include an ever-wider range of potential targets for state-sponsored discrimination. Currently, any organization, media or private individual聽聽as such simply by being declared to be 鈥渦nder foreign influence鈥� by the Russian Ministry of Justice or because of receiving funds of any amount from abroad (or from an entity itself receiving foreign funds). 鈥淔oreign agents鈥� are barred from receiving state financing, teaching at state universities, working with minors and providing expertise on environmental issues, among multiple other restrictions.