{ "title": "Search in Europe, from 2020, head of government Vladimir Putin", "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/search?continent=europe&from=2020&leader=vladimir-putin", "filters": { "continent": "europe", "from": "2020", "leader": "vladimir-putin" }, "sort": "date", "count": 10, "page": 1, "pages": 1, "per_page": 50, "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.", "facets": { "country": [ { "value": "RU", "label": "Russia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } } ], "continent": [ { "value": "europe", "label": "Europe" } ], "tactic": [ { "value": "disinformation_labeling", "label": "Official labels", "count": 2 }, { "value": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "label": "Insult and defamation laws", "count": 2 }, { "value": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "label": "Shutdowns and blocking", "count": 2 }, { "value": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "label": "Funding and ownership pressure", "count": 1 }, { "value": "detention_and_violence", "label": "Detention and violence", "count": 1 }, { "value": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "label": "Secrets and espionage laws", "count": 1 }, { "value": "outlet_licensing", "label": "Licensing and closure of outlets", "count": 1 }, { "value": "access_ban", "label": "Access bans", "count": 1 }, { "value": "expulsion_and_visa_denial", "label": "Expulsion and visa denial", "count": 1 } ], "stage": [ { "value": "pressure", "label": "Pressure", "count": 2 }, { "value": "punish", "label": "Punish", "count": 3 }, { "value": "silence", "label": "Silence", "count": 2 }, { "value": "eliminate", "label": "Eliminate", "count": 3 } ], "level": [ { "value": "national", "label": "National", "count": 10 } ], "outcome": [ { "value": "sustained", "label": "Sustained", "count": 8 }, { "value": "reversed", "label": "Reversed", "count": 1 }, { "value": "ongoing", "label": "Ongoing", "count": 1 } ], "leader": [ { "value": "vladimir-putin", "label": "Vladimir Putin" } ], "era": [ { "value": "2020s", "label": "2020s", "count": 10 } ], "year": [ { "value": "2021", "label": "2021", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2022", "label": "2022", "count": 6 }, { "value": "2023", "label": "2023", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2026", "label": "2026", "count": 1 } ], "has_case": [ { "value": "0", "label": "without a court case", "count": 10 } ] }, "results": [ { "slug": "2026-russia-new-law-targets-exiled-journalists-assets", "title": "Russia: law on asset freezes and service denials for exiled \"foreign agents\", August 2026", "occurred_on": "2026-08-04", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling", "funding_and_ownership_pressure" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2026-08-04", "outcome_note": "Signed and in force on 2026-08-04, according to RSF (s062).", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On August 4, 2026, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, signed a law, adopted unanimously by the Russian parliament on July 24, 2026, that allows the authorities to freeze bank accounts, block property and vehicle sales and deny consular services such as passport renewal to Russians in exile who have been designated \"foreign agents\" or who cooperate with organizations Russia has labelled \"undesirable.\" A \"foreign agent\" is a Russian legal designation that places a person or organization on a government register and subjects them to added restrictions. Of those designated, \"the vast majority are journalists,\" according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The law entered into force the same day.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-russia-new-law-targets-exiled-journalists-assets" }, { "slug": "2024-russia-sentences-gershkovich", "title": "Russia: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years", "occurred_on": "2023-03-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2024-08-01", "outcome_note": "Gershkovich was freed in a prisoner exchange alongside RFE/RL editor Alsu Kurmasheva after 16 months in detention.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "Russia held a Wall Street Journal reporter for over a year on an espionage charge his employer called fabricated, then sentenced him to sixteen years; United States detentions of journalists in the record have not led to years-long imprisonment on state charges.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Russia arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in March 2023 on an espionage charge his employer called fabricated, held him for about 15 months before a closed trial, and sentenced him to 16 years before releasing him in a prisoner exchange.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-russia-sentences-gershkovich" }, { "slug": "2023-russia-ponomarenko-fake-news-sentence", "title": "Russia: journalist Maria Ponomarenko is sentenced to six years for reporting on a Mariupol strike", "occurred_on": "2023-02-15", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Ponomarenko's post concerned an airstrike that hit a theater in Mariupol, Ukraine, in March 2022, a strike Russian authorities have denied responsibility for.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2023-02-15", "outcome_note": "Ponomarenko's six-year sentence and five-year journalism ban stood as of the source reviewed.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "A journalist received a six-year sentence and a five-year professional ban under a wartime false-information law for one social media post, not a fine or license action.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Russian court sentenced journalist Maria Ponomarenko to six years in prison and a five-year ban on journalism under a law criminalizing \"false information\" about the military, after she published a Telegram post about an airstrike on a Mariupol theater that Russia denies carrying out.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-russia-ponomarenko-fake-news-sentence" }, { "slug": "2022-russia-safronov-treason-sentence", "title": "Russia: journalist Ivan Safronov is sentenced to 22 years for treason", "occurred_on": "2022-09-05", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Safronov had reported for the newspapers Kommersant and Vedomosti on Russian military affairs, including 2019 coverage of a planned sale of fighter jets to Egypt, before taking a communications role at Russia's space agency.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2022-09-05", "outcome_note": "Safronov received a 22-year sentence and planned to appeal; the source reviewed does not report a ruling on any appeal.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "A journalist received a 22-year sentence for treason in a case linked to his own earlier reporting, far longer than any credential, licensing or fine-based restriction.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Russian court sentenced military correspondent Ivan Safronov to 22 years in prison for treason, accusing him of spying for a foreign state, in a case his supporters linked to his 2019 reporting on Russian arms sales to Egypt.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-safronov-treason-sentence" }, { "slug": "2022-russia-suspends-novaya-gazeta-license", "title": "Russia: a Moscow court suspends Novaya Gazeta's print license", "occurred_on": "2022-09-05", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "The suspension came about six months into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, during which several independent Russian outlets closed or moved abroad rather than operate under new wartime speech laws.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2022-09-05", "outcome_note": "The Basmanny District Court's suspension of the print license stood as of the ruling, with no reversal reported in the source reviewed.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": "A national court ended a Nobel-recognized newspaper's print license outright over a sixteen-year-old paperwork dispute, not a temporary suspension or fine.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Moscow court suspended the print license of Novaya Gazeta, whose editor Dmitry Muratov shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, after the media regulator Roskomnadzor said the paper had not provided documents about a 2006 change of ownership.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-suspends-novaya-gazeta-license" }, { "slug": "2022-russia-bars-entry-foreign-journalists", "title": "Russia: entry bans, visa restrictions and bureau closures for foreign correspondents", "occurred_on": "2022-06-16", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Russia's actions followed Western governments' sanctions on Russian state broadcasters and officials after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2022-06-16", "outcome_note": "The bans on named British and Australian journalists and the suspension of simplified visas for European journalists remained in effect through 2022 according to the source reviewed.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": "Dozens of named foreign correspondents were barred from entering the country by law and by sanction, not merely excluded from one building or briefing.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Over several months in 2022, Russian authorities closed a Canadian broadcaster's Moscow bureau, barred dozens of named British and Australian journalists from entering the country, and suspended simplified visa rules for European journalists.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-bars-entry-foreign-journalists" }, { "slug": "2022-russia-expels-cbc-cancels-visas", "title": "Russia: CBC/Radio-Canada bureau closed and journalists' visas cancelled", "occurred_on": "2022-05-18", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "expulsion_and_visa_denial", "tactics": [ "expulsion_and_visa_denial" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2022-05-18", "outcome_note": "The bureau closure and visa cancellations were not reported as reversed in the sources reviewed.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": "Russia closed a foreign broadcaster's bureau and cancelled its journalists' visas and accreditation after Canada imposed sanctions; the September 2026 White House ban restricted building access but did not remove any outlet's staff from the country.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Russian authorities ordered the Canadian broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada's Moscow bureau closed and cancelled its journalists' visas and accreditation, part of a wave of expulsions and non-renewals of foreign correspondents after the invasion of Ukraine.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-expels-cbc-cancels-visas" }, { "slug": "2022-russia-blocks-bbc-dw-meduza", "title": "Russia: regulator blocks BBC Russian, Deutsche Welle and other outlets", "occurred_on": "2022-03-04", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2022-03-04", "outcome_note": "The blocks were not reported as reversed in the sources reviewed.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": "Russia's regulator blocked five foreign outlets and two social media platforms nationwide within days of invading Ukraine, alongside fifteen-year prison terms for coverage it called false; the White House ban excluded three outlets from one building, not from the country.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor blocked access nationwide to the websites of BBC Russian, Deutsche Welle, Meduza, Voice of America's Russian service and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty within days of invading Ukraine, alongside new prison terms for reporting the regulator called false.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-blocks-bbc-dw-meduza" }, { "slug": "2022-russia-criminalizes-fake-war-reports", "title": "Russia criminalizes 'fake' reporting on the military, up to 15 years in prison", "occurred_on": "2022-03-04", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "insult_and_defamation_laws", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "The law followed Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and was aimed at reporting on the war that differed from the Russian defense ministry's official statements about casualties and military conduct.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The law remained in force; independent outlets that avoided closure continued operating from outside Russia.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Russia's parliament passed a law criminalizing the publication of information about the military that contradicts official statements, with penalties up to 15 years in prison, prompting Novaya Gazeta to pull its Ukraine war coverage and the BBC, CNN and other outlets to suspend operations inside Russia.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-russia-criminalizes-fake-war-reports" }, { "slug": "2021-russia-designates-meduza-foreign-agent", "title": "Russia: independent outlet Meduza designated a 'foreign agent'", "occurred_on": "2021-04-23", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2021-04-23", "outcome_note": "The designation was not reversed; Russia later declared Meduza an 'undesirable organization' and outlawed it entirely.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "Russia's foreign agent label forced an outlet to mark every article, file quarterly reports and risk two years in prison for lapses, by its own editor's account destroying its advertising business; no United States \"fake news\" designation carries a legal reporting duty or prison exposure.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Russia's Justice Ministry labeled the independent news site Meduza and outlet PASMI \"foreign agents,\" a status requiring constant public disclosure, quarterly reports and audits, and carrying up to two years in prison for noncompliance, which Meduza said would destroy its advertising business.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-russia-designates-meduza-foreign-agent" } ], "other_results": [], "downloads": { "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/search?continent=europe&from=2020&leader=vladimir-putin&format=csv", "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/search.json?continent=europe&from=2020&leader=vladimir-putin", "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/search.md?continent=europe&from=2020&leader=vladimir-putin" }, "license": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" } }