Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed new laws aimed at silencing critics of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other state actions.
The new legislative measures include one that makes discrediting the Russian military a criminal offence.
The new legislation also bans assisting the implementation of decisions by international organisations of which Russia is not a member, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023.
Another law targets so-called “foreign agents,” a term used for Kremlin critics, prohibiting them from serving on the boards of Russian state companies.
The list of “foreign agents” now includes around a thousand individuals and organisations, among them musicians, writers, and journalists.
Persons designated with this label are required to submit rigorous financial reports to the Justice Ministry, in addition to adding 'foreign agent' disclaimers to their publications and social media posts.
