Authors

Oxana Schmies¹;  ¹ freelance, Germany

Discussion

The law on "foreign agents" has become a component of Russian jurisdiction since 2012. In the fall of 2021, the mass media, NGOs and individuals are being branded "foreign agents", put under pressure, in some cases detained and arrested in Russia up to twice a week. Even more worrisome are the law enforcement practices often meaning arbitrariness. The law not only divides the Russian society, puts pressure on Russian independent media or regime-critical individuals, curtails the rights of Russian people, exposes the people to severe state control, targets Kremlin-independent journalistic reporting but also poses a danger for European interests. With a foreign funding and an exercise of political activity, the latter being very vaguely defined, as a formal criteria for brandmarking as a „foreign agent“, it also directly affects European partners. It is a political instrument to abruptly seal off Russia from almost any Western influence, if necessary.

The expertise of legal scholars and lawyers in Germany and Europe who specialize in Russian law can be used to work out possible solutions for unhindered German-Russian cooperation despite the law. „A brainstorming-initiative“ has a goal of putting the human rights in the center of German Russian policy of the new German government. Its goal is to summarize the legal cases and to propose expert solutions from Europe, to explore the possibilities of legal assistance for Russian victims, of using the European human rights mechanisms and building a basis for the elaboration of possible sanctions on Russia.