Russian news website VTimes said on Thursday it was closing after being designated by the authorities last month as  a “foreign agent”, in a widening crackdown on media critical of the Kremlin.

VTimes said the designation had frightened away its partners, ruined its business and made it harder to report news.

Russia uses the “foreign agent” designation to label foreign-funded organizations that it says are engaged in political activity. The term carries negative Soviet-era connotations and subjects those designated to extra bureaucratic scrutiny.

The designation requires outlets to publish a 24-word disclaimer saying their publications are distributed by a media outlet “fulfilling the function of a foreign agent”.

“The ‘foreign agent’ label… has ruined VTimes’ business model – and we set up this outlet as a business,” VTimes said in a statement. “Advertisers and partners do not understand how to work with a ‘foreign agent’ – and we cannot judge them for that.”