Russians Gathering Info For Other States Should Be Labeled As Foreign Agents - Upper House

The Russian upper chamber's commission for state sovereignty protection proposes labeling individuals who gather information for foreign structures as foreign agents, the head of the commission, Andrey Klimov, told Sputnik on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2020) The Russian upper chamber's commission for state sovereignty protection proposes labeling individuals who gather information for foreign structures as foreign agents, the head of the commission, Andrey Klimov, told Sputnik on Thursday.

"We suggest that a legal opportunity should exist to label as foreign agents individuals who engage in gathering political information and other kinds of information on the Russian territory for foreign structures," Klimov said.

According to the senior lawmaker, if citizens engage in such activities, "they should sign on with the Justice Ministry and register their activities" and also report their income in declarations.

This is a reciprocal measure that repeats provisions of the US legislation, Klimov noted.

"Another bloc [of proposals] is related to regulation of educational activities, when different foreign emissaries engage in political education, campaigning and propaganda here. These political activities should be codified," Klimov went on to say.

It may be difficult to provide a legal description, but "it still makes sense to raise the issue," the lawmaker noted, stressing that it was too early to discuss any sanctions.