On March 5, the State Duma passed a new law criminalising the publication of fake news about the Russian armed forces. Article 207.3 makes "Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation" punishable by a fine of up to RUB5mn ($40,300) and up to 15 years in prison, depending on the severity of the crime.  

This law is the latest in a trend of suppressing independent media. During the past week, many Russian news outlets have been blocked or have suspended their operations due to state restrictions. Roskomnadzor rules ban the use of the words “war”, “offensive” and “invasion” to describe Russian involvement in Ukraine, and instead describe it as a “special operation.”  

As a result, Novaya Gazeta and The Bell have decided to stop writing about the war, and Znak.com and the Russian version of The Moscow Times have halted operations altogether. Roskomnadzor has blocked access to Meduza, Dozhd, Ekho Moskvy, BBC Russia, Facebook, and Twitter, among others. To curb Russian propaganda, both Facebook and Twitter restricted access to or put warnings on information from Russian state media sources, and YouTube has blocked state-run RT and Sputnik news channels across Europe.  

Despite efforts to restrict the media, Russians are still expressing their opposition to the war. The Moscow Times interviewed eight journalists who have quit their jobs in state media. Many young Russians are choosing to leave the country, citing safety concerns as the main reason for doing this.  

More than 8,000 people have been detained in anti-war protests since February 24 in at least 45 cities. Jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny called on Russians to fight for peace, tweeting: “Putin is not Russia”, “We cannot wait any longer” and “But we must, gritting our teeth and overcoming fear, come out and demand an end to the war.”