Russia’s controversial law is set to be tightened, but was recently declared a violation of human rights. Film legend will add another name to the list of “foreign agents”.
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Nikita Mikhalkov (76) is Russia’s most famous director. On his Youtube channel he demands that the historic Yeltsin Center be branded a “foreign agent”.
Mikhalkov is a former Oscar winner and has been awarded a number of Russian orders by President Putin.
In practice, it is almost impossible to continue its activities on Russian soil if an organization receives this stamp.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s organization is among the many who have received the stamp «foreign agent».
Boris Yeltsin (1931–2007) was the first president of the new Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, choosing Putin as his successor as president at the turn of the new millennium in 2000. The Yeltsin Center was opened in 2015 – with Putin as guest of honor – and is located in Yeltsin’s hometown of Yekaterinburg.
–The law of «Foreign agents» was introduced in 2012 and was originally about non-profit organizations receiving financial support from abroad having to register as “foreign agents” with the Ministry of Justice if they engage in political activity. “Political activity” is in this context very broadly defined.
President Putin has used the law to prevent opposition and forcibly dissolve a number of groups. In recent years, a number of journalists, lawyers and human rights activists have also become “foreign agents”.
On 14 June, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the law violated human rights. At the same time, the law on “foreign agents” is being tightened sharply, according to Tass.
The court’s ruling concerned Russian sanctions against 73 organizations, and ordered Russia to pay just over 1.1 million euros in compensation and legal costs.
– Unfair
In 2017, the Yeltsin Center, as the first Russian museum, was recognized as the best museum in Europe by the Council of Europe. After the war broke out on February 24, Russia is banned from the Council of Europe.
Mikhalkov says on YouTube that the Yeltsin center does “no less damage” than the radio station Ekho Moscow, which was also branded a foreign agent and had to go off the air.
Therefore, it is “unfair” that the Yeltsin Center still has not received the stamp, the film director believes.
– One thing is that the Yeltsin center in Yekaterinburg is not considered a foreign agent, but a branch of the center has been under construction in Moscow for 13 years, says Nikita Mikhalkov.
A spokesman for the Yeltsin Center says they know Nikita Mikhalkov’s opinion of them and that they see no reason to comment further, reports Kommersant.
The Yeltsin Center contains documents, photos and other documentation of President Yeltsin’s life, but they also have concerts, film festivals, art and other cultural activities.
On May 30, Yeltsin’s son-in-law, Valentin Yumashev, resigned as Kremlin adviser after 22 years.
Radio Free Europe described it as “one of the last ties” between Russia’s current president and Yeltsin, who ruled from 1991 to 1999. Yumashev is married to Yeltsin’s daughter Tatiana.
–– Can not give exact answer
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov has already commented on Mikhalkov’s statements – and says according to Izvestia:
– There have been some episodes at this center that have caused controversy and discussions in public. The law provides clear guidance on whether someone should be declared a foreign agent, says Peskov.
When asked how Putin relates to the center, Peskov says he “can not give an exact answer” to it.
Immediately after the invasion began, the state-funded Yeltsin Center called for “immediate cessation of hostilities” and called the war (or special operation, as Putin describes it) a “fratricidal conflict,” he wrote. Politics North.
Criticism of Kremlin propaganda
The Yeltsin Center has repeatedly criticized TV profile Vladimir Solovyov, one of the Kremlin’s leading propagandists. as stated earlier in the war that «the West is considering a final solution to the« Russian question »». He leads the program «Moscow. Kremlin. Putin »on the main channel Rossija-1.
The Norwegian Environmental Foundation Bellona is among the many NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that have been branded as foreign agents. In recent years, all Kremlin-critical media have received the same label. To the extent that they exist, none of these media outlets are located in Russia anymore.
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