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The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against Marat Nikandrov, a resident of the Moscow region, for failing to comply with the obligations of a ‘foreign agent’ (under Part 2 of Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code), reports “Pod’yom.”

“For repeatedly being held liable, for violating Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code, for the voice chat on my Telegram channel and for the reports,” Nikandrov listed the reasons for the criminal prosecution. “I did not expect it to become this serious. And I am scared. Really.”

According to SOTAvision, the order to charge the journalist states that he did not provide the Ministry of Justice with activity reports for the second and third quarters of 2025. Previously, he had twice been found administratively liable under the law on ‘foreign agent’ violations (Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code). In one case, this was because he did not include a label in a voice chat on his Telegram channel.

Nikandrov has fully admitted his guilt. He has been released on an undertaking not to leave the area.

“I have become a hostage of my idea to become a ‘foreign agent.’ If I could go back, I would not submit such an application to be put [on the ‘foreign agent’ list]. When I signed up, there were at most five or six status restrictions, but now, you cannot even vote in elections if you have this status, among other things,” he told SOTAvision.

On his Telegram channel, Nikandrov explained that he had accumulated debts from previously imposed fines. As a result, he had his exit from Russia restricted.

  • In November 2023, 19-year-old Nikandrov said that he had himself applied to be recognised as a ‘foreign agent.’ According to the journalist, he was “sitting in a café with friends and, just for a laugh, filled out the form.” A few days later, the Ministry of Justice added him to the ‘foreign agent’ list.
  • At the end of December 2022, Nikandrov registered his publication “Daily Fax” with Roskomnadzor, and in 2024 also registered his Telegram channel as a media outlet. As editor-in-chief, at least twice protocols were drawn up against him for publishing materials from ‘foreign agents’ in the media without indicating their status (Part 2.1 of Article 13.15 of the Administrative Code).