A court in Russia’s Arctic Murmansk region has fined a pensioner 30,000 rubles (€325) for “discrediting” the army by liking videos on YouTube. pic.twitter.com/c6qPg9vj9o
— Novaya Gazeta Europe (@novayagazeta_en) February 9, 2026
A Russian court fined a 72-year-old pensioner for the act of “liking” two YouTube videos. The court found the man guilty of discrediting the Russian government and supporting content produced by a Ukrainian propagandist. In the modern age, social media usage can lead to criminal charges.
In this latest case, the court imposed a 30,000-ruble fine (€325) simply because the pensioner pressed a button under content deemed by authorities to be produced by so-called “foreign agents” and critical of official narratives.
This development is not a stand-alone incident. For years, Russian authorities have tightened their grip on online spaces, blocking independent news, throttling platforms, and criminalizing not only the publication of dissenting views but even the private consumption of information viewed as dangerous by the state. The regulatory and legislative infrastructure now enables courts to treat simple digital engagement as a punishable act, and to assign criminality to what in any open society would be protected speech. Russia’s internet environment has been described as among the most controlled in the world, with agencies developing “sovereign internet” plans and deploying powerful content-control systems that monitor, filter, and remove material at the state’s discretion.
Hence, we are witnessing governments attempt to repeal VPN access. Websites are demanding user ID for access. Anonymity on the internet does not bode well for government surveillance and control. The West wanted to believe that this blatant control could only be carried out by the likes of Russia or China.
Every click, every search, and every like can be tracked, judged, and punished. A society that fines a pensioner for a digital gesture is essentially saying that the state owns not just territory and resources but thought itself. Opinions can now be weaponized. Most importantly, the internet was once a free medium of communication exchange, but now, it has become a tool for censorship and control.
