MOSCOW, Dec 27 (Reuters) – An investigative journalist for the BBC’s Russian-language service in Moscow said on Monday that he had felt compelled to leave Russia for what he called “exile” in Britain due to what he said was unprecedented surveillance.
Russian authorities designated Andrei Zakharov a “foreign agent” in October, a decision the British broadcaster said at the time it strongly rejected and would try to overturn. read more
The foreign agent designation has Cold War-era connotations and requires those so labelled to prominently indicate in all their content that they are “foreign agents”, something which can hurt advertising revenue.
He did not say in the report, which was posted on the broadcaster’s Russian YouTube page, who was watching him and added he wasn’t sure if he was being followed because of his foreign agent designation or because of a recent investigation he had carried out into alleged Russian hackers.
The Russian interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the surveillance Zakharov spoke of in the report. The Kremlin has repeatedly said that journalists and media outlets designated as foreign agents can continue their work in Russia.
On Twitter, Zakharov described his departure as “the sad but precise word exile”, referring to himself on his profile on the social network as “foreign agent Number 77; an exile”.
