Arnold Khachaturov1; 1 École des hautes études en sciences sociales , France
Discussion
This paper uses quantitative data to examine how Russia’s “foreign agent” legislation and practice has evolved over time. Since 2012, official registries of the Ministry of Justice have expanded from NGOs and media to include activists, scholars, bloggers, and cultural figures, producing not only legal consequences but also a shifting taxonomy of who—and on what grounds—can be publicly defined as subject to “foreign influence.” Drawing on registry data from 2012–2025, the paper analyzes the dynamics of expansion, the categories applied, and the evolution of the official justifications behind designations.
