Moscow has declared the famous Russian writer Boris Akunin a foreign agent

Russia has labeled exiled writer Boris Akunin, who has spoken out against Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, as a "foreign agent".
Akunin is the pseudonym of the Georgian-born writer Grigory Chhartishvili. His name was added to the "foreign agents" list, which is traditionally updated every Friday.
"Chkhartishvili opposed the special military operation in Ukraine," said the statement of the Russian Ministry of Justice, reported AFP.
He is also accused of "spreading inaccurate information aimed at forming a negative image" of Russia and its military.
The label, reminiscent of the Soviet-era term "enemies of the people," requires individuals or groups to disclose the sources of funding.
It also forces them to tag all posts – including social media posts – with the “foreign agent” label.
The 67-year-old was already on the list of "terrorists and extremists" by Rosfinmonitoring, Russia's main financial intelligence agency.
Akunin is known for his historical detective novels and his longtime criticism of President Vladimir Putin.
"Russia is ruled by a mentally deranged dictator, and the worst part is that she obediently follows his paranoia," Akunin wrote on Facebook on the day Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
Despite his criticism of the Kremlin, Akunin remains one of the most widely read contemporary authors in Russia.
He also co-founded a campaign platform called "Real Russia," which brings together Russian cultural figures to help Ukrainian refugees and Russians who have fled their country.
Many Russian cultural figures fled the country after the start of the Kremlin's military operation in Ukraine, and those who remained faced tough censorship laws. /BGNES