Russian President Vladimir Putin added a former Russian prime minister to the country’s “foreign agent” list Friday.
Mikhail Kasyanov, Putin’s first prime minister. later became the Russian president’s opponent. With his designation by the Russian Justice Ministry as a “foreign agent,” Kasyanov’s credibility could be undermined.
Law in Russia allows for organizations and individuals who obtain foreign funds or support to be designated a “foreign agent.” The law has often been used against independent news media and opposition figures.
According to The Associated Press, the Russian Justice Ministry’s website said that the former prime minister “took part in the creation and dissemination of messages and materials of foreign agents to an unlimited circle of people, disseminated false information about the decisions taken by public authorities of the Russian Federation and the policies pursued by them.” The website also claimed Kasyanov “opposed the special military operation in Ukraine.”
Kasyanov served as prime minister of Russia from 2000 to 2004, the year he was dismissed. He later became a notable opposition figure and tried to run for president in 2008, but the national election commission prevented him from doing so.
After Putin sent troops into Ukraine last year, Kasyanov left Russia and is reportedly in Latvia.
The Associated Press contributed.
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