Valeria Kichigina
Valeria Kichigina, born 1996, Moscow. Charges: Article 207.3 part 2 item d, Russian Criminal Code (Dissemination of false information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, government…); “Ufa resident's case of "fakes" about the Russian Armed Forces”. Sentence (March 24, 2026): 10 years imprisonment' in absentia, a ban on administering Internet pages for a period of 5 years. Status: not in Russia.
In brief
Moscow, Bashkortostan · Moscow, Ufa · Journalists · Anti-war cases
Sentence
10 years
imprisonment' in absentia, a ban on administering Internet pages for a period of 5 years
No information about an appeal ruling.
Charges
- Article 207.3 part 2 item d, Russian Criminal Code — Dissemination of false information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, government agencies, or mercenaries (based on political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or on grounds of hatred or enmity in relation to any social group)
Full wording of the charges
The reason for the case was a reference to an article by Dmitry Kolezev about "why the massacre in Bucha cannot be a fake" and a publication for the anniversary of the beginning of the war in Georgia in August 2008.
Latest event
March 24, 2026 — first-instance verdict
The court delivered a guilty verdict: 10 years.
Timeline
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict · 10 years
· Added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of “terrorists and extremists”
· Preventive measure: arrest in absentia
· Persecution begins
Ufa resident's case of "fakes" about the Russian Armed Forces
Criminal case
Ufa resident's case of "fakes" about the Russian Armed Forces
- Case number
- 01-0080/2026 (01-0430/2025)
Thematic group: Anti-war case
Details and sources
Full summary
A resident of Ufa, a Dozhd journalist, has left Russia. She was prosecuted for spreading deliberately false information about the Russian Armed Forces. The reason for the prosecution was a repost of an article by journalist Dmitry Kolezev about the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha and an Instagram story on the anniversary of the war in Georgia, in which Kichigina wrote that "15 years 20 per cent of Georgia has been occupied by Russia".
In June 2025, the case went to court in Ufa, but the court did not hear the case and referred it to Moscow. In July 2025, the Moscow court returned the case to Ufa. However, in October 2025, the case came back to the Moscow court. On 24 March 2026, Kichigina was sentenced in absentia to ten years' imprisonment.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Russia
- Preventive measures
- arrest in absentia
Other people prosecuted under Article 207.3 part 2 item d, Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.