The Tushinsky District Court of Moscow convicted her under Part 1 of Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code, the Moscow prosecutor's office said. Alongside the prison term, the court imposed a seven-year ban on social and political activity and on using the internet, the supervisory agency said.
Prosecutors cite Zolnikova's work for Meduza as the basis for the case. According to the charge, she prepared two articles for the outlet in 2025. The agency's statement did not specify which publications were at issue.
The criminal case followed earlier administrative proceedings. Zolnikova had previously been fined 12,000 rubles under a protocol on participating in the activities of an "undesirable" organization. Her defense lawyer said the trigger at the time was her Meduza article on how the wars of recent years have changed the look of cities around the world.
News of the criminal case against Zolnikova emerged in the summer. On July 2 the Tushinsky District Court ordered her held in custody in absentia, and the same court authorized a search of her mother's home. According to Meduza, security services came to search her residence in June.
Commenting on the prosecution, Zolnikova told Meduza she had been prepared for it and had received legal and moral support from the first days. She said the case would leave her with "an even more marginal status" and less freedom of movement, but that this was "not a very big price for the opportunity to keep doing independent journalism." She intends to publish under her own name.
Zolnikova specializes in architecture and the urban environment. She has worked with the outlets Archspeech, Archspace.info, Forbes, Afisha and Esquire.
The Prosecutor General's Office designated Meduza an "undesirable" organization in January 2023, ruling that the outlet's work posed a threat to the "foundations of the constitutional order and security" of Russia.