On 12 December 2024, the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) adopted in second and third final reading a bill obliging authorities to automatically add individuals found guilty of disseminating “fake news” or “discrediting” the Russian army” to Russia’s “list of terrorists and extremists”, Russian media reported.
The measure was also extended to those found guilty of inflicting serious bodily harm, hooliganism and hate-inspired murder, as well as to those who repeatedly demonstrated Nazi and so-called “extremist symbols”.
Prior to the decision, inclusion on the list was subject to being found guilty on terrorism or extremism-related charges. Journalists and other individuals could also be included on the list following a decision by Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s state agency for financial control.
Inclusion on the “list of terrorists and extremists” leads to all bank accounts of those concerned being blocked in Russia.
According to the so-called wartime censorship laws, which were adopted in the days following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, any information related to the Russian military’s activities which was not confirmed by Russian authorities is legally considered to be “fake news”, even if it is reported by other verified sources. Violating laws on disseminating “fake news” is penalized by prison sentences of up to 10 years, or up to 15 years in the most extreme scenarios.
The grounds for being found guilty of “discrediting the Russian army” are similar, however “discreditation” is only considered an administrative offence if it is not repeated, and is penalized with fines of up to 50 thousand rubles for individuals, and of up to 500 thousand rubles for legal entities, such as media outlets. If repeated, those found guilty of “discrediting the Russian army” face prison terms of up to seven years.
Russia’s list of “extremist symbols” contains a wide range of objects not internationally recognized as such, for example the white-blue-white flag used by the Russian opposition.