Russia labels Golos vote movement as foreign agent, month before election

FILE PHOTO: Co-chairman of Golos non-governmental organisation Grigory Melkonyants speaks on the phone at his office in Moscow, Russia March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Andrew Osborn

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Justice Ministry said on Wednesday that it has declared the Golos independent vote-monitoring movement as a "foreign agent", just a month before the parliamentary election.

Golos in 2013 had been among the first non-governmental organizations to be declared as a foreign agent, which effectively suspended its operations.