Russia on October 7 declared Oxxxymiron, one of the country's most popular rappers, to be a "foreign agent" as it updated its registry to add activists, writers, and journalists, including some who work for RFE/RL.

Oxxxymiron, 37, whose real name is Miron Fyodorov, has called the Kremlin's Ukraine offensive a "catastrophe and a crime." He canceled a Russian tour in protest of the invasion, subsequently left Russia, and gave a series of concerts titled Russians Against the War in Turkey, Britain, and Germany.

Fyodorov, human rights activist and feminist politician Alyona Popova, and journalist Irina Storozheva of Khabarovsk were added to the list of so-called foreign agents. Oxxxymiron lists Ukraine as a source of funding, while Popova and Storozheva, in addition to Ukraine, list RFE/RL.

Writer Dmitry Glukhovsky and journalists Evgenia Baltatarova of Buryatia and Iskander Yasaveev of Mari El were also included in the updated register of media outlets that are deemed foreign agents.
Yasaveev collaborates with Idel.Realii, a project of RFE/RL.

Glukhovsky is one of the most widely read science fiction writers in Russia. He is the author of the post-apocalyptic fiction novel and bestseller Metro 2033.

After the start of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, Glukhovsky repeatedly published anti-war posts on his social media accounts. He also talked about the killing of Ukrainian civilians and the losses suffered by the Russian Army.

In June he was placed on the federal wanted list by the Russian Internal Affairs Ministry in a criminal case of discrediting the Russian army.

The Justice Ministry also labeled the Yekaterinburg Resource Center for LGBT an unregistered foreign-agent organization.

Russia's foreign agents registry has been used extensively against opponents, journalists, and human rights activists accused of conducting foreign-funded political activities.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters