“statements made on Radio Liberty's YouTube channel”
Online SpeechPrimary source ↗
10 yrs
sentence
Finding · Russia
A law against posting
In March 2022 Russia created two crimes that did not exist before the invasion. Almost everyone documented under them was prosecuted for online speech.
Live from the case database · as of July 6, 2026
306
documented cases
Art. 207.3 (208) · Art. 280.3 (103)
88%
were online speech
of 239 with a documented basis
129
sentenced
avg 5.3 yrs in prison
18
longest sentence (yrs)
for posts about the war
01Why this holds
On March 4, 2022, days after the full-scale invasion, Russia created 2 new crimes. Neither existed before that date — so no one could be charged earlier. Every case here necessarily post-dates the law, and what they were charged over, where the source records it, is overwhelmingly one thing: a post.
Art. 207.3
New 2022
War "fake news" (Art. 207.3)
Criminalizes "public dissemination of knowingly false information" about the use of the Russian armed forces. Created by Federal Law No. 32-FZ of 4 March 2022, days after the full-scale invasion. No prosecution under this article was possible before that date.
Source ↗Art. 280.3
New 2022
Discrediting the army (Art. 280.3)
Criminalizes repeated "discrediting" of the Russian armed forces (after a prior administrative offense under Art. 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). Created by Federal Law No. 32-FZ of 4 March 2022.
Source ↗02The break, by recorded year
2
2
67
21
31
15
2
'20'22'24'26
Grey = before the statute existed (cases dated here reflect an initial detention later re-charged under the new law). Red = since enactment. 166 of 306 cases carry no arrest-date in the source and aren't plotted — which is why the claim rests on the enactment date, not this curve.
03What the cases rest on
Online Speech
211 · 69%
Unknown
67 · 22%
Physical Presence
19 · 6%
Informant / Secret Witness
3 · 1%
Financial Support
2 · 1%
Device Evidence
2 · 1%
Intercepted Communications
2 · 1%
04How to read this honestly
- §These are cases documented in our database (heavily sourced from Memorial and OVD-Info), not a count of every prosecution. The value here is case-level detail: what each person actually did, with a source.
- §Of 306 cases, 67 have no documented basis. The "88% online speech" figure is of the 239 cases where the basis is recorded.
- §These statutes were enacted on 2022-03-04 and did not exist before — so 100% of these cases necessarily post-date the law, regardless of any individual arrest-date record.
05The receipts · 306 cases
Every documented case behind this finding, each linking to its profile and primary source. 239 carry a verbatim quote of what the prosecution rested on.
Olga Yuryevna KomlevaArt. 207.3
“распространение заведомо ложной информации об использовании Вооружённых сил РФ”
12 yrs
sentence
Ruslan LevievArt. 207.3
“The charges stemmed from a video questioning the official account of the Zaporizhzhya NPP shelling and a broadcast about a Russian airstrike on a hospital in Mariupol.”
11 yrs
sentence
Michael NuckyArt. 207.3
“spreading false information about the Russian Armed Forces in his YouTube videos”
11 yrs
sentence
Alexey RozhkovArt. 207.3
“interview to Khodorkovsky LIVE channel”
16 yrs
sentence
Dmitry Igorevich BogmutArt. 207.3
“публично распространил на определённом сайте тексты, видеозаписи и изображения с заведомо ложной информацией об использовании Вооружённых сил РФ за пределами территории РФ”
10 yrs
sentence
Dmitry Alexandrovich IvanovArt. 207.3
“Дмитрий Иванов, являясь создателем и администратором Telegram-канала «Протестный МГУ», действуя умышленно, в период с 4 марта 2022 года по 4 апреля 2022 года публично «распространил в открытом доступе для неограниченного”
8 yrs
sentence
7 yrs
sentence
Vladimir MitrofanovArt. 207.3
“comments on VKontakte about the war in Ukraine and comments justifying the need to harm State Duma representatives”
Online SpeechPrimary source ↗
9 yrs
sentence
Veronika BelotserkovskayaArt. 207.3
“spreading false information about the Russian army's actions in Ukraine”
Online SpeechPrimary source ↗
9 yrs
sentence
Alexander NozdrinovArt. 207.3
“His Telegram channel post about a destroyed building in Kiev led to his conviction”
8 yrs
sentence
Aleksandr Anatolyevich NozdrinovArt. 207.3
“дело возбудили из-за поста в Telegram-канале «Саня Новокубанск» с фотографией разбомбленного многоэтажного дома в Киеве и подписью «Украинские города после прихода освободителей»”
8 yrs
sentence
Sergey Valerievich KurilenkoArt. 207.3
“Куриленко «разместил на своей персональной странице в социальной сети публикацию с текстом на украинском языке, содержащую публичный призыв к осуществлению экстремистской деятельности”
6 yrs
sentence
Sergey Sergeevich MikhailovArt. 207.3
“он публиковал в Телеграм-канале газеты «Листок» якобы несоответствующую действительности информацию об уничтожении российскими войсками роддома и драмтеатра в Мариуполе”
8 yrs
sentence
Aleksandr SultygovArt. 207.3
“based on social media posts inciting violent change of power and commenting on the military's actions in Bucha”
8 yrs
sentence
Lyudmila TolmachevaArt. 207.3
“posts about the killing of civilians and military losses”
8 yrs
sentence
Dmitry IvanovArt. 207.3
“spreading 'fake news' about the Armed Forces in videos discussing the Mariupol theater bombing and civilian deaths”
8 yrs
sentence
Oleg KashintsevArt. 207.3
“internet posts criticizing the war in Ukraine”
Online SpeechPrimary source ↗
8 yrs
sentence
Maxim KatzArt. 207.3
“video he published about the killing of civilians in Bucha”
Online SpeechPrimary source ↗
8 yrs
sentence
Roman LosyakinArt. 207.3
“repost of a video about Bucha and a comment critical of the Russian army”
Online SpeechPrimary source ↗
6 yrs
sentence
Igor BaryshnikovArt. 207.3
“publishing posts about the shelling of a maternity hospital in Mariupol and the killing of residents of Bucha”
7 yrs
sentence
Andrey BalinArt. 207.3
“spreading false information on VKontakte”
7 yrs
sentence
Konstantin Valerevich LedkovArt. 280.3
“Основанием для уголовного преследования по этой статье стал репост Ледковым на своей странице в VK видеоролика «Как в России реинкарнировали нацизм».”
5 yrs
sentence
7 yrs
sentence
Cite this finding
Political Prisoner Watch, "A law against posting: documented prosecutions under Russia's Art. 207.3 / Art. 280.3" (as of July 6, 2026).
https://politicalprisonerwatch.org/findings/russia-war-censorship
More findings · Russia