Russia on Friday classified Vtimes, a reputable independent online media outlet, as a "
foreign agent
,"
a
status that will greatly hamper its operations and profitability while subjecting it to heavy fines.
This decision by the Ministry of Justice comes less than a month after another online medium, Meduza, also very famous, suffered the same fate, weighing down its advertising revenues to such an extent that it launched a campaign to raise funds. of funds from its readers.
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Vtimes was added to this list of "
foreign agents
" because registered in the Netherlands, the ministry said.
The news site was founded last year by defectors from the business daily Vedomosti, long a benchmark title in Russia, who slammed the door of this newspaper after its de facto takeover by Kremlin worshipers.
Pushback for advertisers
In Russia, organizations or individuals "
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.
Meduza thus accompanies each article that it tweets with a message explaining that the site is "
an agent from abroad
".
This status is also a foil for potential advertisers who do not want to quarrel with the authorities.
Vladimir Putin's Russia has been accused since coming to power in 2000 of curbing all forms of freedom of expression on television, but online media have long been able to operate relatively freely.
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But as their audience grew, especially among the younger generations, they were targeted too. And the Russian authorities are also giving more and more signs of wanting to control social media posts.
