Russian Justice Ministry designates prominent pro-Kremlin pundit Sergey Markov as ‘foreign agent’
On Friday, Russia’s Justice Ministry expanded its list of “foreign agents,” targeting four individuals and two media projects. Among those freshly blacklisted is political analyst Sergey Markov, who once served in the State Duma with United Russia and later acted as a trusted spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin during the 2012 elections. Today, he is a familiar Russian commentator in the U.S. and U.K. news media, where he’s typically quoted as a pro-Kremlin pundit. Early reports suggest that the designation may be connected to Markov’s supportive comments about Azerbaijan, a country with which Russia is experiencing significant diplomatic tensions.
Markov’s recent commentary on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has consistently favored Azerbaijan’s narrative. He celebrated Baku’s offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh as “a brilliant, uncontested victory admired by the whole world.”
On Telegram, popular pro-invasion “war correspondent” Alexander Kots also connected Markov’s new status to Azerbaijan, noting that Markov recently attended a media forum in Shusha where, according to Kots, he “bowed and groveled before [Ilham Aliyev], who is holding Russian journalists hostage and has had Russian IT workers beaten to a pulp.” Kots wrote that at the time, Markov’s participation and his apparent repetition of Aliyev regime talking points “to the detriment of his own state” were a mystery. “Well, here’s your answer, it seems. By all appearances — for money,” Kots concluded.
Speaking to journalist and media personality Ksenia Sobchak, Markov said he believes his designation as a “foreign agent” is a mistake. At the same time, he described the Justice Ministry’s decision as a deliberate assault on his character:
It seems to me that this is some kind of defamation, because, well, first of all, I am not a foreign agent, and secondly, I have never had any such contacts. Well, sometimes mistakes can happen. I don’t know anything about this.
In brief comments on his own Telegram channel, Markov wrote:
I am not a foreign agent, and everyone knows it perfectly well. For 25 years, I have supported and continue to support Vladimir Putin’s policies. I am also under Canadian sanctions. This attack against me is being carried out by enemies of Russia and by enemies of Vladimir Putin’s policies. Sooner or later, these people will reveal themselves as traitors or will be removed from office as corrupt officials.
In Russia, individuals and organizations can be designated as “foreign agents” if they receive funding from abroad and are involved in political activities, with financial ties serving as a key factor in such classifications. With Markov’s designation, this mechanism could be gaining new significance as Russia’s relations with Azerbaijan have sharply deteriorated. The downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in December 2024 — allegedly caused by Russian air defense fire — sparked outrage in Baku and led to accusations, demands for accountability, and a diplomatic crisis.
In late June 2025, Russian authorities carried out mass arrests of more than 50 ethnic Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg, ostensibly as part of an old murder investigation. At least two of the detainees died in custody under controversial circumstances, with Azerbaijan alleging torture and demanding accountability. In response, Azerbaijani police raided the Baku office of Russia’s Sputnik news agency and arrested at least eight Russian nationals, including journalists, IT specialists, and tourists, some of whom appeared in court with visible bruises and injuries. These tit-for-tat arrests and credible reports of mistreatment have exacerbated the diplomatic crisis between Russia and Azerbaijan, highlighting rising tensions and mutual suspicions in their bilateral relationship.
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