December, 2019
The foreign agent law is updated to apply to any private individual.
October, 2019
The “sovereign internet” law is passed. It gives the government power to automatically block content and reroute internet traffic.
March, 2019
Bill fining those who spread "fake news" and "show disrespect to the state authorities" is passed.
2019
2020
August, 2020
Alexey Navalny, Russian opposition leader, is evacuated to Germany after most likely being poisoned with Novichok nerve agent, a Soviet-era chemical weapon.
December, 2020
Navalny ally Lyubov Sobol's apartment is raided after she allegedly visits the spy accused of poisoning him.
2021
January 17, 2021
Navalny returns to Russia and is immediately arrested for allegedly violating parole. In 2022 he will be sentenced to at least 9 more years in prison.
March 15, 2021
A masked biker strikes Novaya Gazeta's building entrance with an unknown chemical substance.
April, 2021
Putin signs a law that will allow him to run for reelection twice more, potentially extending his presidency to 2036.
August 5, 2021
Open Media and MBKh Media close due to fears of criminal prosecution after being blocked.
December, 2021
Memorial International and Memorial human rights groups are liquidated.
2022
February 24, 2022
Russia launches a full-scale assault on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy orders a general mobilization.
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March, 2022
Echo of Moscow, Dozhd, BBC News, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Deutsche Welle, The New Times Magazine, Meduza, 200RF, Current Time, Google News, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bellingcat, and countless other media outlets and websites are blocked.
Television is the only news source for most Russians. It is controlled by the Kremlin and pumps out misinformation and war propaganda.
March, 2022
Russia's justice ministry cancels the registration of amnesty international and Human Rights Watch.
March, 2022
Infromation that goes against the government’s narrative about what they call a “special military operation” in Ukraine is criminalized. "War" and "invasion" are words that can result in a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
April 7, 2022
Russia is suspended from the United Nations Human Rights Council.