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Russia designates Radio Free Europe and Voice of America as 'foreign agents'

By Andrew Osborn

 

Vehicles drive past the wall and towers of the Kremlin in central Moscow, Russia November 29, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

 

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia designated Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Voice of America (VOA) as "foreign agents" on Tuesday, a move aimed at complicating their work in retaliation for what Moscow says is unacceptable U.S. pressure on Russian media.

 

Russia's broadside is likely to further sour battered U.S.-Russia relations and is part of the fallout from allegations that the Kremlin meddled in the U.S. presidential election last year in Donald Trump's favour, something Moscow denies.

 

U.S. intelligence officials accused the Kremlin of using Russian media it finances to influence U.S. voters, and Russian state broadcaster RT last month reluctantly complied with a U.S. request to register a U.S.-based affiliate as a "foreign agent" under the Foreign Agent Registration Act.

 

The Kremlin called the move an attack on free speech and says the new media law in Russia, which Western critics have called a disproportionate response, is retaliation.

 

Moscow's response was widely trailed. Russian lawmakers rushed through the necessary legislation last month and President Vladimir Putin signed off on it on Nov. 25.

 

Russia's justice ministry said in a statement on its website on Tuesday it had now formally designated U.S. government-sponsored VOA and RFE/RL, along with seven separate Russian or local-language news outlets run by RFE/RL, as "fulfilling the role of foreign agents".

 

RFE/RL President Thomas Kent said in a video statement his organisation was committed to continuing its journalistic work in Russia, but was expecting "even more limitations on the work of our company".

 

"So far the full nature of these limitations is unknown," said Kent. "We will study carefully all communications from the ministry and other Russian official organisations."

 

VOA Director Amanda Bennett told Reuters her organisation also thought it was unclear what new curbs it would face.

 

The new designation subjects affected U.S.-backed news outlets to the same requirements that are applied to foreign-funded non-governmental organisations under a 2012 law.

 

Under that law, "foreign agents" must include in any information they publish or broadcast to Russian audiences a mention of their "foreign agent" designation.

 

They also must apply for inclusion in a government register, submit regular reports on their sources of funding, on their objectives, on how they spend their money, and who their managers are.

 

They can be subject to spot checks by the authorities to make sure they comply with the rules, according to the 2012 law, which has forced some NGOs to close.

 

One of the seven outlets on the justice ministry list provides news on Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, one on Siberia, and one on the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region.

 

Another covers provincial Russia, one is an online TV station, another covers the mostly Muslim region of Tatarstan, and the other is a news portal that fact-checks the statements of Russian officials.

 

(Additional reporting by Maria Tsvetkova, Denis Pinchuk and Katya Golubkova; Editing by Christian Lowe and Mark Heinrich)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-12-06

[DoctorG]

Seems fair to me

[Suradit69]

Haven't listened to VOA for many years but, assuming it hasn't changed much, it could also be designated as a cure for insomnia.

[ilostmypassword]

I just wen

1 hour ago, DoctorG said:

Seems fair to me

I just went to the VOA site and unlike RT and Sputnik in relation to Putin, the reporting includes comments quite critical of Trump. In fact, I would say VOA is more critical of Trump than either RT or Sputnik. Which says something significant about the respective levels of freedom in Russia and the USA.

[Jingthing]

This is just the beginning. Good chances they're go after CNN next. That would certainly NOT be fair. 

[IAMHERE]

Why did it take them so  ? I'd think the apparatchniks of the past should lose face or moved to an inactive post.

[ilostmypassword]

Just now, IAMHERE said:

Why did it take them so  ? I'd think the apparatchniks of the past should lose face or moved to an inactive post.

Take a look at the VOA website. Tell me what articles are sycophantic or fawning about the current US government. As I said, VOA is a lot harsher on Trump than RT or Sputnik.

[BuaBS]

2 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

Take a look at the VOA website. Tell me what articles are sycophantic or fawning about the current US government. As I said, VOA is a lot harsher on Trump than RT or Sputnik.

Because they're lefties like most of the MSM ?

[ilostmypassword]

4 minutes ago, BuaBS said:

Because they're lefties like most of the MSM ?

So what you're saying is that a right wing government in the USA allows lefties in a government sponsored agency to write critical articles about it?  That sounds like an endorsement of the US system of government to me.

Edited December 6, 2017 by ilostmypassword