Russian Authorities Designate Rock Star Makarevich And Navalny Ally As 'Foreign Agents'

Russian authorities has designated rock musician Andrei Makarevich and five others as “foreign agents,” accusing them of unspecified political activities while allegedly receiving funding from Ukraine.

Ivan Zhdanov, the former head of imprisoned Aleksei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, was also on the list announced by the Kremlin on September 2.

Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Hordon and Russian colleague Katerina Gordeyeva, political scientist Fyodor Krasheninnikov, and Boris Zimin, the son of the founder of the Beeline telecommunications company and philanthropist Dmitry Zimin, were also added to the list, according to the Interfax news agency.

Russia has used its so-called foreign agent laws for the past decade to label and punish critics of government policies.

Boris Zimin and his family's fund paid for Navalny's flight to Germany to seek treatment after suffering a poison attack in 2020.

Krasheninnikov, an outspoken Kremlin critic, in July said he had left Russia for Lithuania for the "foreseeable future" after coming under pressure from authorities for his work.

Makarevich is the founder of cult Soviet and Russian band Mashina Vremeni (Time Machine).

Many of Makarevich’s concerts have been canceled across Russia since 2014 after he publicly criticized Moscow's role in Ukraine.

Zhdanov and other allies of Navalny allies have faced multiple criminal cases in the past three years, including over their alleged involvement in an “extremist group,” as the Kremlin clamped down on any dissent.

Earlier this year, Zhdanov and Leonid Volkov, another Navalny ally, were placed on Russia's list of "extremists and terrorists."

Based on reporting by AP and Interfax