Russian State Duma Unveils Counter-Sanctions on US Propaganda Organs Operating in Russia
The State Duma has responded to the oppressive measures towards RT Channel and Sputnik News Agency, which were taken by US officials. The response is tit-for-tat and unanimous. According to the new law, the foreign agent status is attributable to the media, which are funded from abroad. The violation of the law presupposes strict sanctions. The deputies promise to follow through the implementation of the law soon. At least, the Ministry of Justice has informed several periodicals of possible sanctions caused by the foreign agent status. News agencies list the following media: the Present Time Channel, Svoboda Radio, and Voice of America.
Our political journalist Yevgeny Rozhkov reporting.
The Parliament has unanimously confirmed the "foreign agent" law in both the second and third readings. The Duma members insist that they were forced respond this way. After the Russian media RT Channel and the Sputnik Agency had to acquire a foreign agent status in the USA, and on top of that, according to a 1938 legislation, the Duma had to come up with a tit-for-tat response.
Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma: "We insist that this is not the way to treat the Russian media. We will respond adequately, and we'll do the same in the future".
Only Ministry of Justice can render a newspaper, a magazine, or a broadcast company a foreign agent. At that, only foreign media that is funded from abroad. They must comply with certain requirements. Just like RT in the USA, such media will have to notify the audience of their newly acquired status, and report on funds and professional activities several times a year.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Leader of the LDPR Party: "Foreign agent status obliges media to disclose funding sources, staffing, things like that. This means stricter state control".
Non-compliance fines vary from 100,000 RUB to 500,000 RUB. For persistent violators, imprisonment for up to 2 years is provided.
Gennady Zyuganov, Leader of CPRF Party: "There are more than enough such media in Russia, including about 15 American companies. In the USA, they take down our flags, muzzle Russian media, perform other barbaric acts, while here, they do what they want".
Sergey Mironov, Leader of A Just Russia Party: "Mostly, the law concerns such companies as Voice of America, Svoboda Radio, and CNN. We have to respond this way, even though we didn't want to, but we just can't let it go".
In spite of the fact, that some deputies claim the media subjected to the law, there's no list yet. It's up to the Ministry of Justice.
Margarita Simonyan, the Editor-in-Chief of RT, has commented on the Russian State Duma's decision: "They say, you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs Now, the omelet has been made on Capitol Hill. US authorities haven't decided who's in charge, Trump or those who are against Trump. Journalists, both Russian and American, have to suffer from this situation".
Meanwhile, fake news about Russia continues to pour in from the USA. Buzzfeed has reported that, in September 2016, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs allegedly allocated money for an election, and allegedly for the US Presidential Election. Which is, once again, is a defiant lie.
Pyotr Tolstoy, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma: "Come on, don't they know that all of us here were elected deputies on September 18, 2016? Back then, MFA opened 364 polling sites in 145 countries of the world, so that Russian citizens could take part in the election. They just use every single chance to whip up the anti-Russian hysteria".
All this confirms the relevance and timeliness of the newly adopted amendments. The Federation Council has promised to review the new law at a forthcoming plenary meeting.
Yevgeny Rozhkov, Ekaterina Maximova, Viktor Mamaev, Alexander Terekhov, Vesti, the State Duma, Moscow.