For the first time, Russia labels independent media outlet as 'terrorist group'
Russia's FSB has designated the independent media outlet Komi Daily as a "terrorist organization."
Russian censorship
16-year-old arrested in Russia over anti-government school poster
The child, who the Kyiv Independent has chosen not to identify, allegedly put up posters titled "Heroes of Russia" with photos of Denis Kapustin and Aleksiy Levkin on Dec. 26. Kapustin and Levkin are fighters in the Russian Volunteer Corps, a militant group established by Kapustin who has fought alongside Ukraine and opposes the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin names Ukraine main source of 'extremism' in new decree
Russia's updated anti-extremism strategy names Ukraine among the "main sources of extremism" and enshrines the concept of "Russophobia" for the first time.
Russia deems record number of organizations 'undesirable' in 2024
Russia added 65 organizations to the list in 2024, include the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ), founded by George and Amal Clooney, and the independent Russian media outlet the Moscow Times.
Russian government considers restricting calls made via messenger apps
The possible blocking of calls is being justified by authorities as a crackdown on anti-fraud calls.
WhatsApp may be blocked in 2025 in Russia if company doesn't comply with law, senator says
WhatsApp is the only Meta service that has not yet been blocked in Russia.
Russian authorities block Viber messaging app
Russia's communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, announced on Dec. 13 that it had blocked access to the Viber messaging app.
Putin signs law prohibiting adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries that permit gender transition
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning the adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender transitioning is legal, the Russian government’s legal information website published on Nov. 23.
Lviv-born pediatrician living in Russia may face 6-year prison sentence after criticizing war
Russian authorities are seeking a six-year prison sentence for Dr. Nadezhda Buyanova, a pediatrician originally from Lviv, Ukraine, accused of criticizing Russia’s actions in Ukraine during a private appointment.
Moscow court sentences Ukrainian-born film producer to 8 and a half years in absentia for reporting on Russian war crimes
Moscow's Basmanny district court sentenced Ukrainian film producer Alexander Rodnyansky, on Oct. 21, to 8 and a half years in absentia for "spreading fake information" about the Russian Army.
Gaming platform Steam agrees to remove banned content in Russia, censorship agency says
Steam, which has an online catalog of more than 100,000 games and is used by around 130 million users around the world, including close to 10 million in Russia, agreed to comply with legislation, the federal censorship agency Roskomnadzor told Interfax.
Kremlin begins criminal investigation into chief editor of Russian independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe
Russia's Investigative Committee reportedly alleged that Kirill Martynov, chief editor of Novaya Gazeta Europe, was "conducting activities of an undesirable organization."
Censorship 'justified' in time of war, Kremlin official says
Peskov's comments came on the same day that the Russian federal telecommunications regulator, Roskomnadzor, deleted a published draft of its plans to deanonymize Russian Telegram channels.
Russian journalist sentenced to 8 years in prison for publishing stories about Bucha massacre
The charges relate to stories that the Listok media outlet published about the Bucha massacre, where Russian soldiers murdered hundreds of Ukrainian civilians, as well as other Russian war crimes committed in Ukraine.
Russia labels George Clooney's foundation 'undesirable'
The Prosecutor General's Office claimed that the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) "carries out work aimed at discrediting Russia on a Hollywood scale."
Russia blocks Signal messaging app, reportedly plans to block WhatsApp
Earlier, Signal users in Russia complained about problems with the messaging app. It no longer opens without a VPN or other bypass tools enabled, the Russian English-language newspaper Moscow Times reported.
Putin signs law banning 'undesirable' foreign state-funded organizations
The law on "undesirable" organizations has existed since 2015 and has been used to target perceived opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime, including NGOs, independent media outlets, human rights groups, and others.
Russia reportedly begins slowing YouTube speeds amid censorship spat with Google
Widespread YouTube outages have already been reported across Russia starting earlier in August.
Widespread YouTube outages recorded in Russia
The news comes days after a Russian lawmaker warned that the government would deliberately slow down YouTube loading speeds in response to Google's refusal to comply with Russian authorities' demands.
Russia to slow YouTube speeds after Google refuses to comply with censorship
Russia will deliberately slow YouTube loading speeds by up to 70% by the end of next week, in response to Google's refusal to comply with the demands of the Russian authorities, Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein said on July 25.
Moscow plans to block YouTube in fall, Russian media claims
The news comes shortly after Rostelecom, the country's leading telecommunications provider, said there are "technical problems with Google's equipment" which may "affect the download speed and quality of YouTube videos."
European human rights court rules against Russian 'undesirable organizations' law
A seven-judge panel ruled unanimously that the law violates the convention's articles regarding freedom of assembly and association and freedom of expression.
Russia approves bill to ban 'undesirable' foreign state-funded organizations
Organizations belonging to the list are banned from operating in Russia, and it is illegal for individuals or other media outlets to share their content.
Russia arrests political opposition activists in absentia
The Syktyvkar city court in Russia issued arrests in absentia to world chess champion and Free Russia Forum co-founder Garry Kasparov, along with several other activists, on charges of creating a "terrorist community," financing "terrorist activities," and publicly calling for terrorism.
Russia establishes advisory body to evaluate books' compliance with national legislation
Russia's book union has created an advisory body to check books' compliance with national legislation, namely recent laws targeting the LGBT community in Russia, the Russian state-controlled media outlet Vedomosti reported on April 23.
ISW: Cross-border raids in Russia force Kremlin to pay in resources or reputation
The Kremlin may either allocate extra barricades and border security forces to deflect criticism, or choose to keep the majority of military equipment and personnel in Ukraine to conserve resources.
Russian prosecutors ask for 6-year prison term for activist's social media comments
Yaroslav Shirshikov was arrested in April 2023 on charges of "justifying terrorism" after he called pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky a "scumbag" on Telegram and said that he did not feel "a tinge of sadness" over his death.
Investigative Stories from Ukraine: Journalists identify 100 Russian soldiers killed trying to seize Kyiv last March
Welcome to Investigative Stories from Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent's newsletter that walks you through the most prominent investigations of the past week. If you are fond of in-depth journalism that exposes war crimes, corruption and abuse of power across state organizations in Ukraine and beyond, subscribe to our investigative newsletter.
Investigative Stories from Ukraine: Russia's state censor to track Putin memes with help of AI
Welcome to Investigative Stories from Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent's newsletter that walks you through the most prominent Ukrainian and Ukraine-focused investigations of the past week. If you are fond of in-depth journalism that exposes war crimes, corruption and abuse of power across state organizations in Ukraine and beyond, subscribe to
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