Russians Who Disapprove of the Military May Have Their Property and Money Confiscated

The Russian parliament is set to deliberate over a bill that would permit the seizure of cash, jewelry, and other assets from individuals who are believed to have disseminated “deliberately false information” regarding Moscow’s military operations.

Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin stated in a Telegram update that anyone openly encouraging “extremist activities” or advocating for the imposition of sanctions against Russia would be subject to the measure.

Additionally, it would apply to anybody who “discredits” the armed forces, which is illegal according to a statute that was passed as part of Moscow’s crackdown on dissent following the deployment of soldiers into Ukraine in February 2022.

“Everyone who betrays or attempts to destroy Russia will be held accountable and will have to pay for the harm done to the nation with their personal belongings,” Mr. Volodin declared. According to the law, anyone found guilty of “discrediting” the army also stands to lose all honorific titles, he continued.

According to Mr. Volodin, the Bill will be presented on Monday to the Duma, the lower house of parliament in Russia.

Critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin are routinely silenced by the law against “discrediting” the Russian military, which covers offenses including “justifying terrorism” and disseminating “fake news” about the armed services.

Many bloggers, activists, and regular Russian citizens have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

One of Russia’s best-selling novelists, Boris Akunin, was charged with a crime and added to the Russian registry of “extremists and terrorists,” according to a report released by the state media last month.

Another well-known author, Dmitry Glukhovsky, was found guilty in August of purposefully disseminating false information about Russia’s armed forces by a Moscow court and sentenced to eight years in prison in absentia.

The artist and musician Sasha Skochilenko was sentenced to seven years in prison by a St. Petersburg court in November for trading anti-war price tags from supermarkets.

The previous month, Russian blogger Aleksandr Nozdrinov was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for sharing images of damaged buildings in Kyiv with a comment that suggested the damage was caused by Russian forces.