Foreign funding found for only 4% of those designated “foreign agents” in 2025

Foreign funding found for only 4% of those designated “foreign agents” in 2025

Russia is currently seeing “a continuing trend toward a decline in foreign funding,” Deputy Justice Minister Oleg Sviridenko said at a meeting of the Federation Council commission on protecting state sovereignty, writes Kommersant.

Sviridenko recalled that before 2022, the only criterion for being designated a foreign agent was, in his words, foreign funding, but after that the law was amended with a clause on “other forms of influence,” expanding the grounds on which someone can be labeled a “foreign agent.”

He thanked the lawmakers on the commission for expanding the legislation:

If that single criterion had remained the only one now, then it would be only 4% of foreign agents. Can you imagine? Where would all the others be roaming?

And we would be searching for this money with Rosfinmonitoring, money that doesn’t exist. And money isn’t needed there anyway — there are other forms now.

Sviridenko added that the Russian authorities did not come up with the criterion of “other forms of influence” themselves, but took it from American legislation:

If the Americans and Europe have this criterion, why shouldn’t we have it?

🔵According to Sviridenko, as of May 29 the foreign agents register includes more than 1,200 individuals and organizations. In 2025, 215 entities were designated foreign agents in Russia, including 182 individuals.

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