Another 25 cases opened due to the agency's surveillance system are administrative
Another 25 cases have been opened due to the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs' surveillance system. Journalists from the Arctida and Important Stories projects analyzed the agency's internal reports for 2024–2025.
Journalists from the Arctida and Important Stories projects came to these conclusions. having analyzed Internal reports of the Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs (FANA) for 2024–2025.
As the co-founder of Arctida notes Ilya ShumanovThe agency has a unique digital asset for monitoring national groups, migrants, and indigenous peoples.
How the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs surveillance system works
Last year alone, the system recorded over 35 "negative incidents." This category even included discussions about the problems of indigenous minorities. The agency plans to expand its surveillance to include messaging apps and identify hidden "hints" that could exacerbate interethnic tensions.
Since 2017, approximately half a billion rubles from the federal budget have been spent on the creation and maintenance of the Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs.
The technical operation of the system is provided by the situation center of the House of the Peoples of Russia, which is headed by the former head of the protocol service of the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs Anna PolezhaevaInvestigators discovered that, despite an official monthly income of 325 rubles, the official owns an apartment in Moscow City worth 50 million rubles, a Porsche Cayenne and a Mercedes-Benz, and jewelry worth over 200 euros.
Possible seizure of documents from the agency
Following the publication of the data, news emerged of a possible seizure of documents from the Agency for Nationalities Affairs itself, as reported by specialized Telegram channels. Experts attribute the security forces' interest in the agency to a shift in power and a generational change within the security services. Although the FADN was initially headed by a former FSB official. Igor Barinov, his position is no longer sufficient to protect the agency.
It is possible that the investigation and questioning of the agency's top managers that has begun will become the basis for the direct transfer of the entire monitoring system to the Second Service of the FSB to eliminate the "civilian intermediary."
What does the agency do?
Formally, the Agency for Nationalities Affairs is responsible for implementing state nationalities policy and the adaptation and integration program for foreign citizens. It also distributes subsidies for "spiritual and educational projects," events "to strengthen the unity of the Russian nation," and the "ethnocultural development of the peoples of Russia."
