Constitutional Court Rejects Complaint Against Foreign Agents Law

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation has refused to consider a complaint against the foreign agents law filed by politicians Boris Vishnevsky and Lev Shlosberg. The court«s press service announced the refusal on February 2.

In their appeal, representatives of the Yabloko party pointed to the potential unconstitutionality of a number of provisions in the law «On Control over the Activities of Persons Under Foreign Influence.»

Specifically, they challenged parts concerning the definition of foreign agents, foreign influence, sources of funding, and restrictions associated with the status.

«In its refusal order, the Constitutional Court noted that the Ministry of Justice, when considering the inclusion of a person in the register, must establish specific factual circumstances indicating the existence of necessary and sufficient grounds for recognizing a person as a foreign agent. The legislator, in turn, is not deprived of the opportunity to resort to evaluative or generally accepted concepts,» Vedomosti reports.

Previously, various judicial bodies have repeatedly rejected petitions from former deputies to have their foreign agent status removed. The Yabloko party has publicly advocated for the complete repeal of legislation on foreign agents and undesirable organizations, considering it a tool to restrict citizens« rights and remove undesirable individuals from public space.

Lev Shlosberg was added to the Ministry of Justice«s foreign agents register in June 2023. Later, a criminal case was opened against him for violating the foreign agents law, and in December 2025 he was placed in a pre-trial detention center in another case – for spreading false information about the Russian army.

Boris Vishnevsky was declared a foreign agent in March 2024, when he was a deputy in the St. Petersburg parliament. That autumn, he was forced to resign his mandate because of this status. Furthermore, the prosecutor«s office succeeded through the courts in having one of his books recognized as extremist material. In December 2025, Vishnevsky was convicted for participating in the activities of an undesirable organization, although the politician insisted on his innocence.

Both politicians are officially recognized as foreign agents by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.