The Russian Ministry of Justice has updated the register of “foreign agents”. It includes OOO Sobesednik-Media, the legal entity of the Sobesednik newspaper, Meduza reports.
Also added to the register of “foreign agents” were Nina Belyaeva, Vladimir Dorokhov, Mikhail Yezhov, Yaroslav Rasputin and Oleg Stepanov.
Nina Belyaeva was a deputy of the Semiluki District Council of the Voronezh Region. In June 2022, she was arrested in absentia in a case of disseminating “fakes” about the army and calling for terrorism. In the register of the Ministry of Justice, Belyaeva is also listed as the author of the Telegram channel “Skhidna Slobozhanshchina”, which, judging by its description, is dedicated to protecting the ethnic rights of Ukrainians.
Vladimir Dorokhov is the chairman of the Tula branch of Yabloko.
Mikhail Ezhov is a St. Petersburg musician, computer graphics and animation specialist and publicist, as well as the founder of the musical satirical project Ezhoff Band and the animation studio Hedgehog Studio.
Yaroslav Rasputin is an LGBT activist and the author of the project “Guys Plus”.
Oleg Stepanov is an activist and former head of Navalny’s Moscow headquarters.
The newspaper “Sobesednik” has been published since 1984. After the war began, remaining in Russia, “Sobesednik” continued to publish materials dedicated to opposition politics, including Alexei Navalny. After the politician’s death in a polar colony, “Sobesednik” published a photo of Navalny on the cover with the words: “… but there is hope!” After this, the newspaper’s circulation in Moscow was almost completely confiscated, but “Sobesednik” then wrote about Navalny again, publishing a report from his funeral.