In “State Suppression of Baikal Activism,” Kate Pride Brown sheds light on the convoluted power play of the Foreign Agent Law. De facto, the law, enacted in 2012, essentially allows for the government to label NGOs as “Foreign Agents” if they are acting in a way contrary to the state’s agenda. Although it defines some specific parameters for what types of organizations are subject verse exempt from the law, these are misleading. On the other hand, some of the wording is intentionally broad, such that the state can selectively use the law to suppress certain organizations that it disagrees with;  Brown describes such execution of this law as a form of “legal nihilism.”

Brown shows the detailed ways in which the Foreign Agent law impacts one environmental organization in particular. In order to undergo the check (proverka), the state demands extensive documents in unreasonable time frames. If anything, even so simple as receiving money from another Russian company peaks the state’s interest, the organization can be fined or shut down. 

As Brown alludes to the ways in which the law is one example of how Putin’s Russia harks back on Soviet-era censorship and overstepping power. This idea connects directly to the ways in which many of our authors have commented on the distraught state of Russian life, living under Soviet regime. One work that particularly stands out to me in terms of its commentary on the oppression by the regime is Uncle Vanya. 

Sidenote: I am personally curious to learn more about how the Foreign Agent law impacts collaboration among scientists. Although they are listed as an exception, since so much science is done through NGOs with multiple missions, and since the state doesn’t really follow the exceptions guidelines anyway (as with the Baikal Environmental Wave organization), I am curious to know more!