The independent Russian media VTimes announced, Thursday, June 3, its closure for fear of legal action after being classified “Foreign agent”, a controversial category that involves heavy constraints and potential fines.
In a statement, the editorial staff explained that they had studied several possibilities for continuing its existence, despite the decision of the Russian authorities in mid-May which scared advertisers away. “In each scenario, there was a risk of criminal prosecution against the newspaper employees with potential deprivation of liberty”, concluded the drafting.
She adds that this status of“Foreign agent” at ” broken “ its economic model by putting it in difficulty with advertisers without the donations from readers being sufficient to continue. This status also deprived her of certain sources, she specifies: “Officials, businessmen and even analysts are afraid to speak to ‘an agent from abroad’. “
” The VTimes is being pushed into the niche of the opposition media. But we had imagined and made a whole different medium ”, regrets the drafting, which specifies that the effective closure will take place on June 12, a public holiday in Russia, which commemorates the country’s independence.
Screw turn against independent press
In recent weeks, the Russian authorities have turned the screw on the independent press and the opposition in the run-up to the parliamentary elections in September. Another very famous online medium, Meduza, based in Latvia, was also declared “Foreign agent”, which cut off significant advertising resources and forced him to launch a fundraiser to survive.
May 14, VTimes was declared “Foreign agent”, because registered in the Netherlands, according to the Ministry of Justice. The site was founded last year by defectors from the daily business Vedomosti – for a long time a reference title in Russia – which had slammed the door of this newspaper after its takeover by faithful of the Kremlin.
In Russia, organizations or individuals declared “Foreign agents” must, according to a law of 2012, register with the authorities, carry out tedious administrative procedures and clearly indicate this status in their publications.
Radio Svoboda, funded by the US Congress and classified in Russia “Foreign agent”, has been sentenced in recent months to heavy fines for not having communicated this status.