On Friday, Russia’s Justice Ministry designated the exiled news outlet Novaya Vkladka as a “foreign agent,” citing its explicit opposition to Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.

Novaya Vkladka was established by a collective of Russian journalists shortly after the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Under the leadership of journalist Mikhail Danilovich, who is based in Latvia, the outlet operates a network of freelance reporters both within Russia and internationally, concentrating its reporting on areas outside of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The designation of “foreign agent” was also applied to Misra TV, a multimedia initiative concentrating on issues related to the Caucasus and the Middle East, Dozor v Volgograde, a regional activist group that investigates local corruption and civil rights abuses, along with a Russian-language civic project called Switzerland for All.

Additionally, Alex Goldfarb, a friend of the poisoned former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko who manages a foundation in New York supporting Russian political activists, and veteran journalist and poet Yan Shenkman were similarly classified as “foreign agents” on the same day.

The Justice Ministry accused all six individuals and organizations of opposing the war in Ukraine, disseminating “false information” regarding the Russian government, and engaging with other “foreign agents” and “undesirable” entities.

Earlier that day, Russia’s Constitutional Court rejected a recent legal challenge to the country’s “foreign agent” legislation brought forth by a group of affected politicians. They contended that the law is used to curtail freedom of expression.

The Constitutional Court concluded that the law does not violate citizens’ rights, as they have the ability to contest their designation as “foreign agents” in court.