Authors

Discussion

Introducing restrictions on the freedom of civil society actors and the media has become a priority for the Russian regime's authorities. The Law on Foreign Agents was introduced in 2012, but tightened sharply in 2019. In political terms, foreign agent status is a tool for control and repression of NGOs, media and individuals. In a social sense, it triggers processes of exclusion and stigmatization. For Russian activists themselves, it is not only an organizational or legal challenge, but also a personal one, an experience that heightens the sense of daily insecurity. I would like to present an analysis of the practices and mechanisms of repression and defense against them, as well as the very strategies for the survival of entities with the status of foreign agents and the best solutions for international cooperation. The survey among Russian activists was conducted within the framework of a research project entitled. "Consequences of the implementation of the Law on the Status of Foreign Agents for Third Sector Organizations in Russia. NKO diagnosis, perspective 2019-2021" conducted under my leadership. In a comparative analysis of the practice of repression by the authorities against organizations and the ways of implementing the Law on Foreign Agents from an internal aspect, I have taken into account the experience of the NKO-AZ from fourteen regions (three research categories: consequences; status as a threat; as a barrier to cooperation).