On 26 May 2023, a prosecutor’s office in St. Petersburg summoned journalist Valery Nechay to hand him an investigation order: according to the journalist, he is being investigated for reposting articles from Meduza, Russia’s most popular independent online news outlet. As Meduza had earlier been recognized by Russian authorities as an “undesirable organization”, sharing content by the outlet can be considered as “participating” in such an organization according to Russian legislation, wrote Pervyi Otdel, a Saint Petersburg-based online media.

According to the journalist himself, he was accused of reposting an interview with a Russian cartoon creator who denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in his work. If convicted, Nechay could be fined up to 15 thousand rubles (approximately 170 euros). According to Russian media, the case is the first in which a journalist is accused of “participating in an undesirable organization” for reposting content by Meduza.

Additionally, an investigation was opened into St. Petersburg journalist Sergey Kagermazov, who is also suspected of violating Russian laws on “undesirable organizations” by reposting Meduza articles. According to a press release by the St. Petersburg court service, the journalist reposted five such articles on his page in Vkontake, a Russian social media.

Kagermazov told website Sever.Realii that he believed the cases against him and Nechay were meant to pressure him and other former journalists of the “Echo of Moscow in St. Peterburg” radio station. The journalist explained that him, Nechay and other radio journalists had recently created a Youtube channel to continue their work following the forced close of Echo of Moscow, which occurred soon after Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.