Fined for yellow and blue shoes: How Russian laws smother dissent

Since the invasion of Ukraine, the measures used to clamp down on Kremlin critics have swelled.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersFined for yellow and blue shoes: How Russian laws smother dissent14 hours agoBy Vitaly Shevchenko, BBC Monitoring Russia EditorShareNATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFPAnna Bazhutova was jailed for five and a half years for spreading "fake information" on the Russian armyDissent is not tolerated in Vladimir Putin's Russia.

For years Kremlin critics have faced a host of laws which could be used against them, and since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that toolbox of measures has swelled in size.

The laws target basic rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of assembly - even though they are enshrined in Russia's constitution.

The repressive nature of the punishments, often disproportionate to the offence, harks back to the methods of the old Soviet Union.

The law used most widely against critics of the war in Ukraine is the criminal offence of spreading "deliberately false information" about the Russian army.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw4yv7nv8xlo

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