On 23 April 2024, Russian independent media reported on the detention of journalist Yevgeny Anisimov in Yekaterinburg, in Russia’s Urals region. According to sources in security forces quoted by several Russian outlets, Anisimov was detained on defamation charges, however he was also accused of publishing what Russian authorities consider to be “fake news” about the war in Ukraine. In addition to his arrest, security forces searched Anisimov’s home as well as the offices of Prekrasnaya Rossiya (“Beautiful Russia”), the project running the Youtube and Telegram channels where the journalist published. Anisimov was released soon after his detention and with a “ban on carrying out certain activities”, Russian media reported, without specifying what these activities were. He faces several years in prison if found guilty.
Journalists at Prekrasnaya Rossiya claimed that Anisimov had been arrested because the outlet was planning an investigation into alleged irregularities linked the sale of public land in the region of Yekarinburg.