As reported on 23 March 2023, journalist Ela Znamenskaya from Zhukovskiye Vesti, a local online media outlet in Zhukovsky near Moscow, was accused of “discrediting” the Russian army, with a court hearing in her case scheduled for the end of March. The accusation was linked to a a series of now-deleted videos posted on the Youtube channel of Zhukovskiye Vesti, where Znamenskaya and other journalists discussed issues linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Among the topics discussed were packages sent home by Russian soldiers, allegedly containing goods looted in Ukraine, Russia’s membership in the Council of Europe, as well as Russian war crimes in Bucha and in other parts of Ukraine. If convicted, Znamenskaya faces a fine of up to 50 000 rubles.
The journalist claimed that the case against her was initiated after a complaint was made by a Russian soldier returning from Ukraine, who was himself an acquaintance of Sergey Zhuravlev, a local pro-Kremlin politician, who had himself threatened to file a complaint against the journalist. In October, when Zhuravlev formulated the threat, him and Znamenskaya were discussing an article by the journalist, in which she claimed that Zhuravlev refused to make payment for a car he had bought from a local resident. Prior to the publication of the article, Zhuravlev’s lawyer called Znamenskaya and threatened her with “extrajudicial punishments” if she decided to publish the text.
UPDATE: On 6 June 2023, the Moscow regional court confirmed a 30 thousand ruble fine earlier handed to Znamenskaya on charges of “discrediting” the Russian army. The ruling was handed despite an earlier decision by the Ministry of Justice to disqualify the linguistic expertise of Znamenskaya’s videos, based on which the journalist was accused.
UPDATE: On 4 October 2024, Znamenskaya was placed on Russia’s ‘wanted’ list. She no longer lives in Russia.