May 25, 2021

Bling Defiantly!


Bling Defiantly!
"Foreign Agent." / Photograph by Haley Bader

There is a not-so-fresh trend in Russia: labeling nonprofits, individuals, and unregistered organizations as “foreign agents." But the trend has already begotten the next one, as a fashion innovator has come up with a swankier way to “report” one's newly minted status.

On April 23, Russian authorities designated Meduza, the leading Russian-language independent news website, a “foreign agent.” The term hearkens back to a 2012 law that has since been expanded to require certain organizations and politically active individuals to disclose whether they receive foreign funding. If applicable, these entities must include the “foreign agent” declaration in any promotional materials.

Shortly after Meduza leveled up to “foreign agent,” Putin enacted fines that could reach the equivalent of $650 US if a media agent neglected to self-report.

As any self-respecting defiant might ask herself: if you must comply with slapping an ugly label on something, why not do it with style?

The company Avgvst Jewelry jumped on the opportunity to show support for Meduza, along with the nasiliu.net Center for Assistance to Victims of Domestic Violence, which was also designated a foreign agent. The company has released a series of sexy bling that any proud foreign agent can wear. 

On May 13, Avgvst opened pre-orders for the decorations. It is now possible to purchase a delicately dangling chain necklace that proclaims “И Н О А Г Е Н Т” (“Foreign Agent”), or a simpler pendant stamped with the same. Avgvst jewelry founder Natalia Bryantseva hopes that the jewelry will take the designation from shameful to fashionable.

 

You Might Also Like

Aiming for RuNet
  • May 01, 2021

Aiming for RuNet

Russia’s crackdown on internet freedoms reached a fever pitch this spring as the government attempted to slow Twitter traffic in response to the microblogging platform’s alleged refusal to delete banned content.
Freedoms Found and Lost
  • January 01, 2007

Freedoms Found and Lost

Fifteen years ago, Russia had the makings of a free press for the first time in its history. Nine years later, the winds began to change.
Defenders of the Pen
  • September 01, 2017

Defenders of the Pen

Not many organizations defend the press in modern Russia. In fact, just one seems to be doing it vigorously. This one.
The Magazine Boom
  • May 01, 2002

The Magazine Boom

Want proof Russia's economy is on the mend? Look no further than the newsstands. New national magazine brands are being introduced every week. So we sent Editor Mikhail Ivanov to look at what is behind the boom in publishing and where it is going.
Aliens, help Russia!
  • January 18, 2018

Aliens, help Russia!

Darkness descends on Moscow, a cry for help ascends to the sky, and a foreign agent stays exactly where it is. Also huskies and ancient teeth.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955