On 6 February 2023, a court in Moscow sentenced Veronika Belotserkovskaya, a blogger and the founder of Sobaka.ru, a lifestyle website based in St. Petersburg, to nine years of prison in absentia, for allegedly spreading “fake news” on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She is also banned from managing websites for five years. Belotserkovskaya, who was born in Odessa, Ukraine, was convicted for publishing posts on social media in March 2022, in which she condemned Russia’s invasion. She has since left the country.
In April, authorities seized Belotserkovskaya’s property in Russia. This included two apartments and parking places in Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as a plot of land in St. Petersburg. Belotserkovskaya was also arrested in absentia. The decisions were linked to the ongoing investigation against her for allegedly publishing “fake news”. Belotserkovskaya was also declared a “foreign agent”, entailing significant legal restrictions in her activity.