In the Kaluga and Tula regions, they began to be fined for the publication of drones arrivals
As Kommersant found out, the authorities of individual regions began to hold local residents to be liable, who post on the network the consequences of the blows of Ukrainian drones (UAVs). In particular, fines are already “flying” to reporters and users of social networks in the Kaluga and Tula regions. According to Kommersant’s estimates, the number of regions where the “administrative” can be obtained for the publication of the consequences of the BPP blows, Kalmykia and the Tver region joined them last week. However, in most entities, this norm remains “sleeping”.
As “Kommersant” said in the government of the Kaluga regionby the beginning of June, the Department of Administrative and Technical Supervision amounted to and sent to the peace 42 protocols on a violation of the ban on the regional operational headquarters to disseminate information on the consequences of the fall of drones (Article 5.11 of the regional law “On Administrative Offenses in the Kaluga Region”).
- In two cases, legal entities became violators – the media, in five, local residents who shot the video arrivals and distributed these personnel on the network.
- Three more protocols relate to comments on social networks.
- The rest are compiled by administrators or owners of Telegram channels and publics VKontakte, as well as the authors of personal pages.
The government of the Kaluga region did not specify what fines were assigned by the courts in each case, but they recalled that the article provides for the sanction from 3 thousand to 200 thousand rubles. Depending on the subject and the frequency of the offense.
As Ilya Zenov, deputy head of the governor’s administration, explained to Kommersant, the network monitoring is carried out together with the Kaluga Center for the Regional Management.
“Accounts in media and social networks are analyzed, violations are identified and information is prepared for management. It does not matter who removed and posted in public access, because the consequences of strokes are critical information for the organizers of the attack. According to them, they evaluate not only the result of their work, but also plan future attacks, ”Mr. Zenov emphasized.
At the end of May, 25 thousand rubles. A resident was fined Tula regionwho took off the video and posted in Telegram the January attack of Ukrainian drones on the city of Aleksin. As explained by Kommersant in the press service of the regional government, So far this is an isolated case bringing to administrative responsibility for the publication of arrivals. In other regions where similar fines have been introduced, the norm has not yet been applied in practice.
Recall that at the federal level they wanted to limit the publication of arrivals after a series of resonant attacks on Moscow in the summer of 2023. Then a group of senators developed a package of amendments that establish liability for the distribution of almost any military information – from data on the deployment of troops to the photo of the flight of the air defense missile (see “Kommersant” dated August 17, 2023). It was assumed that such information would be blocking at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office out of court. For violators, administrative liability was provided (a fine for individuals – up to 50 thousand rubles), and with relapse – criminal (up to three years in prison).
However, the initiative was not introduced to the State Duma then. As Kommersant reported, the presidential administration considered it important to maintain the “balance between the protection of information and its freedom” (See number of March 12, 2024). Instead, the solution of the issue was transferred from the federal level to the regional one. Since the beginning of last year, administrative responsibility for the publication of arrivals began to appear in individual entities suffering from attacks of Ukrainian UAVs. The authorities of the Leningrad and Kursk regions were the first to introduce it, a little later-St. Petersburg, Kaluga, Tula, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions.
According to Kommersant, now fines are provided for residents of at least 12 subjects. In June, Kalmykia and the Tver region joined them.
Responsibility is introduced according to the same scheme: first, an article is submitted to the regional administrative code on a violation of the decision of the operational headquarters, and then the headquarters itself forbids citizens to publish personnel.
- The size of the first fine for individuals is mainly from 1 thousand to 5 thousand rubles, for legal – from 50 thousand to 200 thousand rubles.
- But there are exceptions: for example, in the Volgograd region, legal entities may immediately face a sanction of up to 1 million rubles.
Interestingly, that in Ryazan and Rostov regions The fines are established, but the local authorities have not yet introduced the ban. “The legislative frame has been created, but so far we are by conversations,” a source in the Ryazan government explained to Kommersant.
In regions where the ban is already operating, but the punishment has never been imposed yet, the lack of fines is explained in different ways. For example, the interlocutor “Kommersant” in the authorities Kursk region He says that people relate to publications neatly and do not allow the distribution of photos and videos by which you can determine the location of military equipment and special objects. The St. Petersburg Security Committee told Kommersant that there were no violations during the prohibition of precedents, since the UAVs were flying to the side Leningrad regionwhere there are multiple more industrial enterprises. And in the Ivanovo government “Kommersant” said that they simply did not manage to put a new norm in practice yet.
