Russia declares a “foreign agent” the post-Soviet foreign minister of the country. Andrei Kozîrev claims the “stupidity of the regime”
Andrei Kozîrev, at that time Russia's Foreign Minister, photographed in September 1993 in the margin of a meeting he had at the White House with William Clinton, the US president at that time. Credit: Mark Reinstein / Alamy / Profimedia
The Russian Ministry of Justice declared on Friday “foreign agent” on Andrei Kozîrev, Russia's post-Soviet foreign minister, who became a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, Reuters reports.
Kozîrev, who is 74 years old and lives in the United States, was Russia's Foreign Minister during President Boris Elțîn, after the 1991 Soviet Union was destroyed, in a time when the country was under liberalization and maintained warm relations with Western countries.
Moving to the US in 2010, Kozîrev became an open critic of Vladimir Putin's policies and later of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
In 2022, shortly after the outbreak of the war, Kozîrev urged his former colleagues from Russia's Foreign Ministry to resign in protest.
In Friday's statement, the Russian Ministry of Justice accused the former head of diplomacy of distributing false information about the Moscow Government policies and the Russian army. At the same time, the institution reminded of the opposition manifested by Kozîrev against what the Kremlin describes as the “special military operation” in Ukraine and accused of cooperating with “foreign platforms”.
Andrei Kozîrev's reaction
Asked about the decision of the Russian authorities, the former Foreign Minister said that she reflects the “stupidity of the regime”.
“I am happy to join those noble people who were also designated foreign agents,” said the former Russian official.
The classification as a “foreign agent” carries a negative connotation of the Soviet era and forces those concerned to identify as foreign agents on social networks and other publications. Such a measure also exposes some financial reporting requirements within Russia.
Other public personalities who angered the Russian authorities by anti-war statements were also included in the same category.
The Ukraine war entered the fourth year on February 24, 2025, and the US is making efforts to convince Russia to accept a closing of hostilities. US emissary Steve Witkoff has traveled to St. Petersburg and talks to Vladimir Putin on Friday, their third meeting in the last two months.
