Ex-presidential aspirant - Moscow labels Duntsova a foreign agent.
Almost three months after the suspicious Russian presidential election marred by fraud accusations, opposition candidate Yekaterina Dunzova has been labeled as a "foreign agent" by the authorities.
41-year-old Dunzova's name has found itself in the official register of the Russian Ministry of Justice, where numerous Kremlin opponents are now featured. Along with her, activist Maria Andreyeva, who advocates for the return of mobilized men from the war zone, as well as some critical media outlets have recently joined the list.
Being identified as a "foreign agent" frequently leads to severe professional setbacks and even safety concerns for those affected. This practice has been viewed as a political repression technique to silence critics within the nation since Russia's conflict with Ukraine began.
Former journalist and anti-war activist Dunzova intended to run against the long-standing leader Vladimir Putin in the March 17 presidential election. However, Russia's election commission disqualified her prior to the election due to alleged irregularities in her supporter signatures. Soon after, opposition figure Boris Nadezhin also fell victim to this ordeal, failing to officially register as a presidential candidate. Numerous spectators believed that both had become targets of political repression.
Ultimately, Putin, who has been leading Russia for nearly a quarter of a century, encountered no authentic opposition candidate in the election, which was deemed one of the least democratic in the country's recent history. Following the voting, Putin was re-elected with alleged voting totals over 87%.
Read also:
- The allegation of fraud during the Russian presidential election in March, which saw Vladimir Putin's re-election with over 87% votes, has led to criticisms and labelings.
- The Ministry of Justice in Moscow has added Yekaterina Dunzova, an ex-presidential aspirant, to its official register of foreign agents, following her disqualification from the election.
- Besides Dunzova, activist Maria Andreyeva and some critical media outlets have also been labeled as foreign agents by the Russian authorities, apparently due to their criticisms of the government and its policies.
- Russian opposition figure Boris Nadezhin, like Dunzova, also faced disqualification from the presidential election and was labeled as a foreign agent, adding to concerns about political repression in Russia.
- Russia's labeling of its critics as foreign agents has been widely viewed as a tactic to silence dissent and undermine justice, a practice that has escalated since the country's conflicts with Ukraine.
