In 2023, the courts of the Russian Federation received 2,870 protocols on “discrediting”

In 2023, Russian courts received 2,870 administrative cases about “discrediting” the Russian army (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). The total number of such cases in almost two years since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reached 8,386, Sibir.Realii calculated, and studied the data of Russian courts of general jurisdiction.

The courts received the most “discrediting” cases in 2023 in March — 335. The fewest recorded records of all time — 125 — was in December last year.

Moscow (1,019), annexed Crimea (562) and St. Petersburg (457) remain the leading regions in the number of “discredit” cases. In Siberia and the Far East, the leaders are Sakha (141), Zabaikalsky Krai (130) and Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (127).

Sibir.Realii drew attention to the fact that the protocols on the “discrediting” of the army have not yet been submitted to the courts of the Chechen Republic. At least five cases were considered in the 26th Garrison Military Court, which territorially belongs to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan.

Volgograd activist, ethnic Ukrainian Vitaliy Gotra remains the leader in the number of received protocols among Russian citizens – in 2022, he was fined almost 700,000 rubles in 23 cases. In second place was Ilya Khrapko, a former military man from St. Petersburg, against whom 15 reports were issued in 2023 for publications on social networks, but later they were combined into one case. He admitted his guilt.

Pavel Kambolin, a resident of Blagoveshchensk (Amur region), who in 2022 painted anti-war graffiti on city buildings, also has 15 protocols. Later, a criminal case of vandalism was opened against him.

In total, more than 5,800 people have been fined for “discrediting” in Russia, according to the Sibir.Realii website.

• Soon after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian authorities introduced administrative and criminal liability for the so-called discrediting and fakes about the Russian Armed Forces. Citizens who write about alleged war crimes of the Russian army are prosecuted under the article about “fakes”, and those who express disagreement with the position of the Russian authorities on the Ukrainian conflict under the article about discrediting. There are known cases when people were fined, for example, for the slogan “Peace – peace” or the image of the Ukrainian flag.