Overview

• Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, has approved a bill allowing for the confiscation of assets from individuals convicted of spreading 'deliberately false information' about the military.
• The bill is expected to be approved by the upper house and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin.
• The law will apply to those convicted of publicly inciting 'extremist activities', calling for actions that would harm state security, or 'discrediting' the armed forces.
• 'Discrediting' the armed forces is already a criminal offense under an existing law, which has been used extensively to silence critics of Putin.
• Despite the crackdown on dissent, the Kremlin maintains that Russian society is united in supporting the war.