United States includes Radio Sputnik in the register of Foreign Agents
The US Department of Justice has officially added the company Reston Translator, which broadcasts Sputnik radio programs, to its list of foreign agents. The entry is #6490 in the corresponding register.
It appears that the principal of the company Reston Translator, which registered in Virginia, is the federal state unitary enterprise International Information Agency Russia Today. The Agency is registered at 4 Zubovsky Bulvar in Moscow.
RIA Novosti reports that the US authorities did not require registration of the agency Sputnik itself as a foreign agent in the United States.
On November 14, it became known that RT America was also registered as a foreign agent in the US. The company T&R Productions LLC, which carries out broadcasting and production for RT, was entered into the register as entry #6485; its foreign principal was named as the nonprofit TV-Novosti. The US Department of Justice earlier demanded the registration of RT as a Foreign Agent.
The Russian side has made demands for retaliatory steps. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has instructed the Duma to work out potential "mirror measures" against American media working in Russia. On November 15, the State Duma adopted new legislatory measures that equate foreign media with Foreign Agents. Publications receiving foreign funding will be subject to the same legislative provisions as non-profit organizations that have Foreign Agent status.