In the western Russian region of Belgorod, a 38-year-old woman only identified as Irina M. was fined ₽30,000 ($370) for a social media comment criticising fighters from the Chechen Akhmat unit, which forms part of the Russian Armed Forces.
According to the Telegram channel Pepel, the comment was posted under a message from pro-war blogger Vladimir Romanov, who reported on the redeployment of Akhmat fighters to the Belgorod region due to the offensive in the Krasnoyaruzhsky District.
In her comment, the woman wrote that soldiers from Chechnya ‘live in hotels and drive around the city high’.
'In [19]41, generals would shoot themselves from shame; now they get promoted. Romanov, how much are you paid? The Akhmat fighters themselves said they “missed” the (Ukrainian forces), and now they have heroically advanced. We in Belgorod can clearly see this heroism. They live in hotels and drive around the city high’, Irina wrote.
Several months later, the comment was discovered by an officer of the Belgorod region’s Interior Ministry. The woman was charged under the article of the Russian administrative code on ‘public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, their official symbols, as well as calls to refuse participation in their use’.
Irina M. admitted her guilt, explaining that she had written the post ‘under emotional stress’, partly due to health issues, and added that she had previously volunteered to assist Russian soldiers.
The Oktyabrsky district court of Belgorod found that her comment was ‘aimed at undermining the authority and public trust in the Akhmat special battalion’ and imposed a fine of ₽30,000 ($370). The commander of the Akhmat unit, Apti Alaudinov, has not commented on the case.
According to the media outlet Fonar, in 2024 five residents of the Belgorod region were accused of distributing extremist content online. Law enforcement agencies initiated 13 criminal cases, while 59 people faced administrative penalties — 14 of them for ‘discrediting the Russian army’.
The Akhmat unit has been operating in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, since the summer of 2023. Its fighters were redeployed there to guard the border against possible incursions by sabotage groups. However, Russian media and social media users have reported that they have remained stationed in the rear, living in hotels, taking part in leisure activities, and clashing with local residents.
The article used to punish the woman was introduced as a legal measure against public actions ‘discrediting’ the Russian Armed Forces. Alongside it, criminal provisions were also adopted for the ‘dissemination of knowingly false information’ about the Russian military.
Nate Ostiller
