Russia's justice ministry on Friday declared media outlet TV Rain (Dozhd) a "foreign agent," part of what Kremlin opponents say is a crackdown on critical media before a parliamentary election next month.
The government, which denies a crackdown is under way, uses the "foreign agent" designation to label foreign-funded organisations it says are engaged in political activity.
The term carries negative Soviet-era connotations and subjects those designated to extra government scrutiny.
TV Rain operates online and has long been a platform where Kremlin critics who are unable to get on state TV have been able to express their views.
Investigative journalists working for another outlet, iStories, were also added to the list of foreign agent media on Friday, the official register showed.
(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
