The winner of a prestigious Cannes Film Festival award has been declared a foreign agent by Russian authorities for his criticism of Moscow's war in Ukraine. Acclaimed Russian film director Andrey Zvyagintsev was designated a "foreign agent" by the Kremlin on Friday, according to state news agency TASS.

The 62-year-old director won the 2026 Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival for "Minotaur," a film depicting a Russian businessman who is forced to decide which of his employees should be mobilised to go and fight in Ukraine. In his acceptance speech, Zvyagintsev said: "Millions of people on both sides of the front line dream of only one thing: for the massacres to stop," adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin was the only person capable of ending the war.

Russia's Ministry of Justice on Friday accused Zvyagintsev of disseminating "false information about decisions taken by the public authorities of the Russian Federation and the policies they pursue." "He interacted with foreign agents and resides outside the Russian Federation," it said. The director has lived outside Russia since the COVID pandemic and is known for films including "The Return," "The Banishment," and "Leviathan," a bleak portrayal of life in rural Russia.

People listed as foreign agents in Russia are subjected to onerous bureaucratic requirements and restrictions on their income. They are barred from holding public office and forced to register their activities with the authorities. They also have to add warnings on everything they publish, including on social media, that the content was produced by a foreign agent. The label adds connotations of espionage to numerous people, including public figures, whom the authorities deem to be engaging in anti-Russian activity with support from abroad.

Previously, writer Boris Akunin and rock musician Boris Grebenshchikov have been labelled as foreign agents by Moscow. The designation is part of a broader crackdown on dissent in Russia, where critics of the war face increasing pressure and legal consequences.

Source: www.aljazeera.com