A football blogger was fined for an article about discrediting the army

Russian sports blogger, former football player Evgeny Savin was fined 50,000 rubles for an article about discrediting the Russian army. This is the maximum punishment under the imputed paragraph of the article.

It is not known what exactly Savin was accused of. The court ruling on the fine has not yet been published. Savin was not present at the trial: he left Russia in May 2022.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Savin filmed and published an anti-war film on his YouTube channel. In it, Ukrainian football players talk about their experiences since the beginning of the Russian invasion. In the description of the video, there is a phrase: “The war started by Russia changed the fate of every Ukrainian.” The film was watched more than 1.5 million times.

After the publication of the video, the football club owned by Savin was banned from training at the stadium in Krasnogorsk. Almost all sponsors refused to finance the club – it was reported that Savin sold his apartment in order to financially support the team.

After emigrating from Russia, 38-year-old Savin registered his team in Cyprus.

• The administrative article on the discrediting of the Russian army appeared shortly after its invasion of Ukraine. Discreditation in Russia is considered, for example, to use the word “war” instead of “special military operation” in relation to the war in Ukraine.
• The article provides for a fine of up to 50,000 rubles, and for repeated violations, a criminal case with a penalty of up to five years in prison is threatened. According to “Mediazona”, by mid-December, more than 5,500 cases were filed on the article about discrediting.