Russia labels ex-foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev a ‘international agent’; he calls it ‘stupidity of regime’ – The Instances of India

Russia’s justice ministry mentioned on Friday that it has designated Andrei Kozyrev — a former international minister and distinguished critic of President Vladimir Putin — as a “international agent”. The Yeltsin-era minister responded to this labelling by calling it “the stupidity of the regime.”
In keeping with Reuters, Kozyrev, 74, was the primary international minister of post-Soviet Russia, serving below President Boris Yeltsin within the early Nineteen Nineties when the nation maintained comparatively heat ties with the West. Now residing in the USA since 2010, Kozyrev has grow to be an outspoken critic of Kremlin insurance policies and Russia’s navy actions in Ukraine.
In 2022, after the beginning of the battle in Ukraine, Kozyrev publicly known as on his former colleagues within the Russian international ministry to resign in protest.
The justice ministry accused Kozyrev of spreading false details about Russian authorities insurance policies and navy actions. It additionally cited his opposition to the battle—referred to by Moscow as a “particular navy operation”—and his alleged collaboration “with international platforms.”
Responding to the transfer, Kozyrev dismissed the designation, saying it mirrored “the stupidity of the regime.”
“I’m glad to affix these noble individuals who have likewise been designated international brokers,” he added.
The “international agent” label, rooted in Soviet-era terminology, carries a robust stigma and requires people to publicly determine themselves as such in all publications and on-line posts. It additionally imposes strict monetary reporting guidelines.
Quite a few writers, journalists, and cultural figures vital of the battle have confronted the identical designation lately.