The pardon decree was published on the Kremlin website. It states that Putin, "guided by the principles of humanity," released Chekalina from the punishment handed down by the Gagarinsky District Court of Moscow on July 31 and removed her criminal record.
In 2023, Chekalina and her then-husband Artyom were accused of tax evasion and money laundering. Both criminal cases were closed by March 2024, after the couple repaid their debt and paid fines totaling more than 500 million rubles.
In the autumn of 2024, a third case was opened against them, on charges of illegal currency operations. According to investigators, the Chekalins used forged documents to move money out of Russia to evade taxes. The case concerned the transfer to the UAE of more than 250 million rubles earned from the sale of fitness marathons.
On July 31, the court sentenced Chekalina to five years' imprisonment, suspended, and a fine of 765 million rubles. In her final statement, she asked not to be fined because she would have no way to pay it. Artyom Chekalin was sentenced in April to seven years in a general-regime penal colony in the tax evasion case.
On November 12, the blogger's lawyer said she had asked Putin for a pardon. Chekalina was diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer, after which her case materials were separated into a distinct proceeding. The defense sought permission for her to travel to China for treatment.
In 2020, Chekalina ranked seventh on Forbes' list of Russia's highest-paid bloggers, with an annual income of $600,000.