Russia: Kremlin Intensifies Transnational Repression with Continued Targeting of Exiled Natalia Baranova
Women Press Freedom denounces additional fines slapped on Baranova for “failure to comply with foreign agent law”
Location: Russia, Kirov
Date: July 2, 2024
The crackdown on independent journalism in Russia continues as Natalia Baranova, a journalist and former content director of the Greenhouse of Social Technologies, faces her fourth fine under the country's oppressive foreign agent law. Women Press Freedom has documented a significant increase in the number of cases targeting exiled journalists under the foreign agent law in recent months. These rising prosecutions of dissidents and journalists abroad show the Kremlin’s determination to target those who have fled the country but continue to report the truth on Putin and his government. Women Press Freedom demands an end to this legal harassment which we view as cynical transnational repression tactics aimed at intimidating critics abroad. The authoritarian foreign register list should be immediately abolished and all cases against the press and activists should be dismissed. We call on the international community to condemn the Kremlin’s relentless crackdown on independent press and its harassment of those in exile.
On July 2, 2024, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Kirov fined Natalia Baranova 30,000 rubles (approximately $400) for allegedly failing to submit a report on her activities for the third quarter of 2023 to the Ministry of Justice.
This penalty was imposed under Part 2 of Article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which regulates the activities of those designated as "foreign agents."
Baranova, who is currently living in exile in Lithuania, is no stranger to such punitive measures. In the past year alone, she has been fined three additional times under the same article for purportedly failing to label her materials with the "foreign agent" designation. These previous fines, amounting to 80,000 rubles (approximately $900) in total, were issued in September, November, and December 2023, primarily for her work on the Telegram channel "Experiencing Activism."
Baranova has publicly stated that while she does submit the required reports, she refuses to label her work with the "foreign agent" disclaimer. She told RFE/RL in 2022 that she does not attach any importance to the "foreign agent" status but is concerned about how potential audiences can react to it and make decisions about reading resources and supporting journalists and activists based on the label.
Despite the legal pressures, she remains committed to her work, using creative strategies to circumvent censorship and continue both her reporting and advocacy, including her work with the Lithuanian branch of the Feminist Anti-War Resistance, which she helped develop after relocating.
Natalia Baranova's continued fines under Russia's foreign agent law underscore a broader crackdown on independent journalism and the targeting of exiled journalists. The rise in similar cases against journalists as documented by Women Press Freedom reflects an alarming trend in Russia, where the regime's efforts to control and suppress independent voices are becoming increasingly aggressive.
Women Press Freedom loudly condemns the Kremlin’s assault on independent journalists at home and abroad. We call upon global leaders and organizations to amplify their efforts in defending press freedom, providing support to exiled journalists, and pressuring the Russian government to cease its oppressive tactics.
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