Articles 207.3, 280.3, and 284.2 of the Criminal Code were introduced into the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation by Federal Law No. 32-FZ of March 4, 2022, «On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Articles 31 and 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.»

Following the spontaneous protests triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on March 4, 2022 this legislative proposal, now in a conceptually different version from its earlier draft, was approved without any deliberation in the second and third readings.

In it’s newest version the censorship articles 207.3 «Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the performance of state bodies of the Russian Federation in their official duties» and 280.3 «Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for the protection of the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, maintaining international peace and security, or the performance of state bodies of the Russian Federation in these matters» were introduced.

The explanatory note to the legislative proposal regarding Articles 207.3 and 280.3 does not provide any explanation. There are no justifications, other than propagandistic and censorious ones, for the introduction of these norms in the explanatory note.

The explanatory note to the legislative proposal in its initial form concerning only Article 284.2 contains only its description, also without justification for the necessity of regulating legal relations by federal law.

The deliberation and voting on the legislative proposal in the second and third readings took 5 minutes and 43 seconds and was accompanied by applause.
The proportionality of the severe penalties introduced by the law and the pursuit of the lawful goal during the discussion of the law in the conceptually new version was not discussed in principle.

In violation of the Rules of the State Duma, no official opinions from the government, the Supreme Court, or the Legal Department of the State Duma were obtained for the new norms.

The law entered into force on the day of its publication — March 4, 2022.
The enforcement of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code has evolved in such a way that any statement related to the Russian invasion, which does not correspond to the official position of the Ministry of Defense, is considered «public dissemination under the guise of credible messages of knowingly false information containing data on the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation outside the territory of the Russian Federation.»

The criterion of truth in the courts has shifted. It is no longer a fact confirmed by admissible, reliable, and relevant evidence but, rather, an unverifiable and unprovable press release from the Ministry of Defense.

Likewise, the enforcement of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code, which entails criminal liability for «public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation," was developed.

This norm contains an administrative prejudice, and the question of what qualifies as discrediting of the Armed Forces is not considered and investigated when adjucating a criminal case, as it has already been the subject of investigation in an administrative offense case under Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

Individuals are being prosecuted under Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses for traditional anti-war statements, such as «No to War," «Peace to the World," spitting on symbols with the letter «Z," for anti-war satire, and even clothing in yellow-blue colors — the colors of the state flag of Ukraine and simultaneously one of the parliamentary parties in Russia.

The inadequacy of punishment and the unclear position of the Ministry of Defense led to an unparalleled intimidation of the population in the history of modern democratic Russia, along with the complete cessation of open discussion containing criticism of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine by individuals residing in Russia.

Each resident of the country was made aware that any assertion about a fact related to the war, lacking confirmation from the Russian Ministry of Defense, would not commence a discussion but lead to criminal prosecution instead. Any publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the war will result in an administrative fine with the prospect of further criminal prosecution.