The court fined Boris Grebenshchikov under the article on discrediting the army

The court in Moscow fined poet and musician Boris Grebenshchikov 50,000 rubles for the article on discrediting the army, Mediazona reports.

According to the case files, Biysultan Hamazov, a member of the State Duma from “Edynoi Rossii” wrote a denunciation of Grebenshchikov. He asked to check Grebenshchikov’s interview with the Israeli Channel 9, in which he called Russia’s actions in Ukraine fascism.

In court, Grebenshchikov’s representative stated that during the interview, the musician “expressed his personal opinion, he does not have access to any channels.” In addition, according to the defense, Grebenshchikov is making “every effort to have the material removed.”

Grebenshchikov is the leader of the group “Aquarium”, one of the most famous representatives of Russian rock. After the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, the musician left the country. He repeatedly made anti-war statements, including at his concerts abroad.

• Russian courts consider any anti-war speeches or reports about the participation of Russian troops in war crimes to be discreditable.
• 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.
• During the war in Russia, more than six thousand cases of “discrediting” of the Russian army were initiated, Mediazona calculated.