Moscow brands Nina Khrushcheva a ‘foreign agent’

Russia has added American scholar Nina Khrushcheva, the great-granddaughter of former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, to its list of so-called ‘foreign agents’. Moscow assigns this status to individuals it claims are engaged in anti-Russian activities or spreading false information about Russian politics.

Khrushcheva is a professor at The New School in New York and continued her research trips to Russia even after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The scholar said the Russian authorities’ decision did not surprise her. According to Khrushcheva, it was only a matter of time before she ended up on the list. She also noted that in Russia the positive image of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, whose rule her great-grandfather publicly condemned in 1956, is once again being reinforced.

The designation ‘foreign agent’ carries a number of administrative obligations and restrictions in Russia, including the requirement to label all public appearances and publications with this status.

(Reuters, MJA)