A well-known Russian actor was sentenced to eight years in prison for spreading "fake news" about the shelling of Kryvyi Rih
The Basmanny Court of Moscow has sentenced actor Artur Smolyaninov in absentia to eight years in prison. The criminal case was prompted by an interview he gave to *Novaya Gazeta Europe*, in which he discussed the consequences of the Russian missile strike on a residential building in Kryvyi Rih on December 16, 2022.
This was reported by Mediazona.
Russian investigators claim that the actor spread “knowingly false information” about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces, motivated by political and national hostility. During the trial, the prosecution emphasized that Smolyaninov “slanders the country and the president,” and three retired women testified in the case, stating that his remarks were “unpatriotic.”
Artur Smolyaninov left Russia in 2022 after openly criticizing the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Earlier, Russian authorities had already added him to the registries of “foreign agents” as well as “terrorists and extremists.” This verdict is yet another example of repression against cultural figures who oppose the war, against the backdrop of increasing international isolation and the systemic recession that the Russian economy officially entered in April 2026.
Russian theater and film actor Artur Smolyaninov, who was added to Russia’s list of “terrorists and extremists” for condemning the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was attacked by a Russian man in Germany. An unknown individual used profanity toward the actor and threatened to “tear him to pieces” when he arrives in Russia.
Soviet and Russian actress and singer Alla Pugacheva stood by her husband, Maxim Galkin, and asked the Russian authorities to add her to the list of “foreign agents.”
