Foreign Agents in Russia - Doria

1. Research Introduction: Foreign Agents in Russia
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In my pro gradu thesis I take an in-depth look into one of topical troublesome concepts in Russian
sociopolitical entity: foreign agents (иностранные агенты, inostrannye agenty sometimes referred
to in short as иноагенты, inoagenty). This loose concept embeds emotional and political value
globally and it is something that from late 2012 became a subject that foreigners and Russians
suddenly might engage themselves into when they are dealing with each other. In summer 2012 the
Federal Assembly of Russian Federation introduced a new law on non-commercial organizations
(закон о некоммерческих организациях, НКО), that was popularly nicknamed 'the foreign agents
law'. (RIA Novosti 2012.) According to the new law associations contributing to political activities
in Russia should be registered and labeled as foreign agents. The law was received with criticism
inside and outside Russia. Those who supported the new law regulations argued for them among
other by international practices and transparency others claimed it repressive. Overall it seemed
rather unclear or disputable that what does 'foreign agent' in practice mean? I got my first picture
onto the topic from critical international media seeing it as political repression, but I wanted to take
a more comprehensive look onto it.
If the definition of being a foreign agent is defined by the law then one might make the
conclusion that the meaning is set straight in the law. Practically this however is not the case since
the concept of foreign agents is not without social history and background. Examing it historically
some might remember foreign agents as they were portrayed during the Soviet era when it referred
to the enemies within the people. How much has this idea molded 20 years after the collapse of the
Soviet Union? Today this perspective of foreign agents is supported in action movies where agents
are portrayed as spies practicing espionage in foreign countries but it is also part of scientific
terminology and jargon of various fields. There is no doubt that in a country as vast as Russia with
population of approximately 140 million, there is a variety of interpretations of this term and that is
why it is controversial for Russian administration to claim hegemony of the definition of any
concept with lots of historical – also pejorative – background. Addingly looking at the subject in
perspective of a non-Russian as I do, one must remember that despite of the seemingly similarity of
it, the term should not be seen as a synonym of what foreign agent means outside Russia. Even
though ideas of foreign agents are also influenced by globalization, undoubtedly they have spatial
and lingual characteristics to be concerned. In year 2012 foreign agents was taken in use as a
juridical concept regulating non-commercial organizations, which not only in Russia but in other
countries as well has raised critical questions of foreign lobbying and support to domestic civil
society. What does the case of foreign agents tell about this phenomenon?