Zheleznogorsk woman fined for offensive online comment

A court in Zheleznogorsk has fined a local resident 6,000 rubles (about $67 at current rates) for defamation on social media. The woman wrote an offensive comment under a post by an animal shelter volunteer.

Volunteer Yevgenia Shalimova found a stray dog on the street, took it to a veterinary clinic for surgery, and then brought it home. In the morning, the dog died. The volunteer wrote about this on VKontakte on the shelter«s page.

Another woman left a comment under the post addressed to Shalimova, alleging that the volunteer took money for the dog«s treatment, left it to die, and spent the money on alcohol.

In court, it was revealed that all funds for animals go directly to the shelter, and volunteers do not receive them. The woman did not take any money for this dog. And she does not drink alcohol — this was also not confirmed.

Now, the author of the comment must publish the court decision on her page and pay 6,000 rubles (about $67). Although the volunteer had requested 30,000 rubles (approximately $333).

The court decision has already come into force.

This is not the first case in the region where people have been punished for comments on social media. In March 2025, a 23-year-old man was detained in Krasnoyarsk for writing about migrants in a Telegram channel chat and inciting violence. After the detention, the young man was unable to explain how migrants had hindered him.