The State Duma has introduced a package of bills on new restrictions for foreign agents

A package of bills aimed at protecting the sovereignty of the Russian Federation and countering foreign interference has been submitted to the State Duma. This was announced on Friday, January 31, by Vasily Piskarev, head of the State Duma Commission for Investigation of Foreign Interference in the Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

"It (the package. - Ed.) includes, among other things, bans on the participation of foreign agents in education and enlightenment, on their receiving support at all levels of government (supplemented by a ban on support at the municipal level)," Piskarev's words are quoted in the commission's Telegram channel.

In addition, the package will include measures to strengthen the responsibility of foreign agents for failure to fulfill the requirements of Russian legislation.

According to the head of the commission, the initiatives were signed by representatives of all factions, as well as the heads of the State Duma committees on education, on science and higher education and on the development of civil society, issues of public and religious associations.

"We are developing other measures to protect our sovereignty, we will do everything to prevent people with hostile intentions from entering the sphere of education and enlightenment," Piskarev concluded.

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Earlier, on January 17, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation updated the register of foreign agents, which was replenished with the names of journalists Andrei Kozenko, Irina Romaliya, Anastasia Lotareva, Anton Rubin, Kseniya Kiriya and Alexander Prokopenko. According to the Ministry of Justice, these individuals disseminated inaccurate materials, including on the platforms of foreign agents, about the authorities of the Russian Federation and their policies.

On December 1, 2022, the law regulating the activities of foreign agents came into force in Russia. In case of obtaining this status, a foreign agent, among other things, can no longer receive financial support from the state, participate in government procurement and engage in teaching activities in state institutions. In addition, these persons must inform their employees and the authorities about this status, as well as label the materials they create.