The Cost of Being Foreign Agent

Russian rapper Oxxxymiron, also known as Miron Fedorov, has been served with an R40,000 ($396) fine by the Kuibyshev District Court of St. Petersburg, according to reports from the city courts' joint press service. 

The penalty was imposed in accordance with the "foreign agents" law, which seeks to crack down on artists, activists, and other individuals who have been determined to be representing the interests of entities hostile to the Russian state.

Fedorov was found culpable under the specific provision outlined in Part 2 of Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code, pertaining to the failure to provide the Ministry of Justice with a report on the activities of a foreign agent. The court clarified that Fedorov was required to submit this report prior to January 15, 2023.

In October 2022, Fedorov was fined and labeled by the Russian government as a foreign agent after calling the Russian invasion of Ukraine a "catastrophe and crime." The Kremlin has deemed several of Fedorov's songs "extremist." For example, for his song “Oida," the rapper was fined R100,000 ($990) for the lines "Ingria will be free" and "To hell with the old house." Since leaving Russia, Fedorov has organized a series of charity concerts, raising funds in support of Ukrainian refugees. They were the rapper's first shows in five years.