전쟁과 검열: 러시아 외국에이전트법을 중심으로

초록

The censorship implemented by the Russian government during the Russia-Ukraine War, which commenced on February 24, 2022, is carried out within the context of national security and information control. A series of legislative acts, including the ‘'Fake News Law’ and the ‘Foreign Agent Law,’ constitute the principal legal foundation for current Russian censorship policies. This paper focuses on the ‘Foreign Agent Law’ and aims to identify the patterns of domestic Russian censorship that have unfolded since the Russia-Ukraine War, by examining representative cases where this law has been applied. While the ‘'Fake News Law’ serves as the legal basis for controlling the content of information, the ‘Foreign Agent Law,’ which is the focus of this study, is regarded as the legal basis for controlling the producers and distributors of information. The ‘Foreign Agent Law’ designates and controls non- governmental organizations (NGOs), media outlets, and individuals who receive foreign funding and engage in political activities within Russia as ‘Foreign Agents.’ Since its initial introduction in 2012, this law has been consistently broadened and utilized to suppress critical voices in Russia. In the course of the war, Russian authorities have applied the ‘Foreign Agent Law’ far more aggressively to suppress the opposition. Cases designated as ‘Foreign Agents’ since the outbreak of the war are directly linked to activities such as ‘opposing the war’ or ‘criticizing the Kremlin,’ and are characterized by the expansion of their targets and scope to include NGOs, media organizations, individuals, and even figures who were previously considered Kremlin-friendly. Through the analysis and discussion presented in this paper, it is argued that the censorship utilizing the 'Foreign Agent Law' has served as a key legal mechanism for reinforcing the authoritarian rule of the Putin regime since the commencement of the war.

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