Exiled YouTuber Yury Dud Sentenced to Nearly Two Years in Prison for Foreign Agent Law Violation

A Moscow court in absentia has sentenced exiled journalist and YouTuber Yury Dud to 1 year and 10 months in prison for breaching Russia’s «foreign agent» legislation, as reported by authorities on Friday.

The Basmanny district magistrates’ court determined that Dud had repeatedly failed to adhere to the legal obligations placed on individuals designated as «foreign agents.»

According to the exiled news organization Mediazona, this is the first case resulting in actual prison time related to violations of the «foreign agent» law.

Dud was labeled a «foreign agent» by Russia’s Justice Ministry in April 2022, shortly after he spoke out against Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He left the country soon after and has remained outside Russia since then.

The Moscow Prosecutor’s Office indicated that Dud posted two items on social media in May 2025 that did not include the required disclaimer identifying them as produced or distributed by a «foreign agent.»

His sentence has not yet taken effect and will commence upon his extradition to Russia or arrest within the country, according to a statement from the Moscow court system.

Under Russian legal provisions, repeat infractions of «foreign agent» regulations can result in a maximum prison sentence of two years.

Dud had already faced fines on two occasions for not labeling his online material according to «foreign agent» guidelines.

As of now, he has not publicly responded to the prison sentence issued on Friday.

Since its launch in 2017, Dud’s YouTube channel has garnered over 10 million subscribers and features a variety of interviews with politicians, musicians, journalists, and business executives.