Former presidential candidate: Moscow lists Dunzowa as a “foreign agent”

More than two months after the presidential election in Russia, which was marked by allegations of fraud, opposition candidate Yekaterina Duntsova has been branded a suspected “foreign agent” by the authorities.

The 41-year-old’s name appeared in a register of the Russian Ministry of Justice, which now includes many Kremlin opponents. In addition to Dunzowa, other people and organizations have now been added to the register – including the activist Maria Andreyeva, who is campaigning for the return of mobilized men from the war zone, as well as several critical media outlets.

Being classified as a “foreign agent” often entails major professional disadvantages and even risks to the security of those affected. Especially since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the procedure has been seen as a means of political repression to silence critics in one’s own country.

The former journalist and anti-war activist Dunzowa wanted to run against long-time ruler Vladimir Putin in the presidential election on March 17. However, Russia’s electoral commission threw her out of the race early, citing alleged formal errors in her supporting signatures. A similar fate befell opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin shortly afterwards, who was also denied official registration as a presidential candidate. Many observers were convinced that both were victims of political repression.

Ultimately, Putin, who has been in power in Russia for around a quarter of a century, was not faced with a single genuine opposition candidate in the vote. After the election, which was considered one of the least free in recent Russian history, Putin was confirmed in office with reportedly more than 87 percent of the vote.