The Duality of Coercion in Russia: Cracking Down on “Foreign Agents”

This article examines the complexity of oppression in contemporary Russia. On one hand, the authorities in 2012 passed a repressive law that brands many human rights organizations as “foreign agents.” On the other, the state offers cooperation and provides funding for many of the very groups it stigmatizes under the law. The result is that the activists are in doubt, with each association working to address its own particular situation. As each organization focuses on its specific problems, the groups are weakened in their ability to work together to contest oppressive politics.