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Putin signs law combating foreign interference

The new act amends 39 sectoral laws "to ensure terminological and content consistency" with the law on the control over the activities of foreign agents and to establish restrictions for persons recognized as foreign agents

MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law aimed at combating foreign interference. The newly-signed act builds on previously adopted rules regarding foreign agents. It was uploaded to the official portal of legal information on Monday.

Last summer, a law "On Control over the Activities of Persons Under Foreign Influence" was adopted. It summarized all of the previously introduced Russian regulations on foreign agents and introduced a number of new ones.

"Even then, we were aware that it would require significant changes and amendments to the existing sectoral laws. For that reason, December 1, 2022 was set as the date of the law’s entry into force," said one of the authors of the bill, head of the ad hoc commission of the Federation Council for the protection of state sovereignty and the prevention of interference in the internal affairs of Russia, Andrey Klimov.

The new act amends 39 sectoral laws "to ensure terminological and content consistency" with the law on the control over the activities of foreign agents and to establish restrictions for persons recognized as foreign agents.

"These laws fully ensure the functioning of the underlying law," the senator said.

In particular, the document equates all content produced by a foreign agent for minors to information harmful to the health and development of children. The law bans rallies, processions and demonstrations on the premises of railway stations, airports, educational organizations and areas adjacent to the buildings of public authorities. At the same time, the ban will not apply to public worship and other religious rites and ceremonies stemming from the historical, cultural and other objective features of Russia’s constituent territories.

The law establishes the right of the authorized body of power, its territorial branch and their officials, acting within the framework of exercising control over the activities of foreign agents, to request and receive information from the tax authorities regarding the names and locations of banks and other credit institutions where the persons in question have bank accounts, and also the accounts’ types and numbers.

The law is effective as of the day of its official publication.

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