The Status and Role of Foreign Agents in the Information Warfare Unleashed by the West against Russia: Political and Legal Aspects

Introduction. Studying the role and influence of the foreign agents on public consciousness and political processes in Russia in the context of information warfare is relevant due to the negative consequences their activity has on the society during the special military operation in conditions of the unprecedented sanctions pressure of the collective West. Disinformation, destructive propaganda, manipulation of consciousness, influence on the psyche, digital technologies used by the foreign agents urge the country's authorities to undertake legal measures to counteract their activity. Therefore, it is expedient to study in more detail the modern concepts referring to the information warfare and the foreign agents’ activity posing threat to the national security of the Russian Federation. The aim of the research is to study and analyse the normative-legal acts regulating control over activity of the foreign agents in Russia, their status and role in the information warfare, as well as to develop recommendations for improving the state policy on counteracting the threats in the information space. Materials and Methods. The study was conducted using the dialectical method as the main method of cognition, along with the content analysis of the normative-legal acts, historical-comparative, structural-functional methods and method of linguistic analysis. Results. A brief substantiation of the growing popularity of the information warfare tactics was given. The main features of foreign agents, the methods of disinformation and manipulation of public opinion used by them, and their influence on the political and social processes in the country were analysed. The existing in the Russian Federation measures of counteracting the information warfare and the activity of the foreign agents were evaluated, and gaps in the legislation were identified. The need to prepare a new federal law protecting against disinformation but respecting the right to freedom of speech was substantiated, as well as the need to improve the technical means of ensuring the information security of Russia. Discussion and Conclusion. The results of the study are intended to complement and expand the scientific understanding of the status and role of the foreign agents in the modern information warfare, their key strategies of influencing the most vulnerable groups of population, measures of improving the legal regulation of the foreign agents’ activity in the modern geopolitical realities. Also, the study can serve a basis for further research in the field of information warfare and the influence of foreign agents on the international relations and the internal affairs of the state.