A law making it illegal to discredit Russia’s army has ensnared thousands of Russians for even mild acts or statements against the war.

In the past, the government would make examples of a few individuals, some prominent; now it is practicing widespread censorship. This year, with antiwar speech in public largely eliminated, the records show that authorities remained intent on stamping out criticism expressed online and in private. More than 3,000 cases involved social media or messaging platforms popular in Russia.

  • that guy
    6•9 months ago

    I mean his political opponent is in some arctic prison, I doubt things were great before war time

    • @[email protected]OP
      3•9 months ago

      People were doing some very small-scale protests like signing open letters. Not great, but not this repressive either