On 12 October 2023, journalist Vladislav Postnikov reported that a court in Yekaterinburg had fined him 195 thousand rubles on charges of “discrediting” the Russian army in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian media reported that the editor-in-chief of media outlet Vecherniye Vedomosti was fined for a series of Telegram publications reporting on anti-war protests in Yekaterinburg, where he is based. Postnikov said that following the court’s ruling, the fines against Vecherniye Vedomosti totaled exactly one million rubles.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, reporting on the war based on sources other than the Russian government is forbidden in Russia. Media outlets which do not comply with new legislation face heavy fines, closure, and internet access blocks. Journalists who violate laws on war-related “fake news” and “discreditation” of the Russian army face fines and prison terms.