MOSCOW: Russia on Friday designated Meduza, a popular Russian-language news website based in Latvia, a “foreign agent” as authorities pile pressure on independent media. Founded in 2014, Meduza is one of Russia’s leading independent news websites.

It is based in EU member Latvia to circumvent censorship from Moscow, but some of its journalists live in Russia. On Friday, the Russian justice ministry said in a statement that Meduza’s Latvia-registered company had been added to the “list of foreign media outlets carrying out the function of a foreign agent”.

The ministry said the decision was based on “enforcing the requirements of existing laws in the Russian Federation”. Kremlin critics say that during his two decades in power President Vladimir Putin has silenced most dissidents and muzzled the media The few opposition and independent media that still operate in Russia are under huge pressure, Kremlin critics say.

Meduza said that the “foreign agent” tag was “bad news” for the publication. In a statement on Twitter, Meduza said the designation has “discriminatory status in Russia that will make it harder for us to do our job and earn a living”.