A Moscow court has sentenced Mediazona editor-in-chief Sergei Smirnov in absentia to one year in a general-regime penal colony for violating requirements imposed on people designated as “foreign agents” under Russian law.
Smirnov was found guilty under Part 2 of Article 330.1 of the Russian Criminal Code. Prosecutors had requested a sentence of 18 months.
The criminal case was based on four posts published on Smirnov’s Telegram channels without the disclaimer required under Russia’s “foreign agent” legislation.
The posts included a repost of a Mediazona article about a teacher from Khabarovsk, a message about documentary films on Russia being screened in Vilnius and an audio post about elections in Botswana.
Russia’s Justice Ministry added Smirnov to its “foreign agents” registry in September 2021. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he stopped using the required disclaimer in his publications.
Before the criminal case was opened, Smirnov had repeatedly been fined for alleged violations of the labeling rules. He was placed on a wanted list in March 2025.
Smirnov lives outside Russia, and the case was therefore heard in absentia.