October 7 marks the 20th anniversary of the murder of *Novaya Gazeta* journalist Anna Politkovskaya. While the courts have identified the perpetrators and organizers of the crime, the person who ordered the killing has never been named. The statute of limitations for the case expired in 2021—fifteen years after the murder took place.
A court in Vladikavkaz decided to fine journalist Ruslan Totrov 20 thousand rubles under the article of inciting hatred and enmity against a group of people. In one of the social networks he wrote: “The most popular reaction to this on the Internet is the clown emoji. But the sovereign's servants are not clowns. They are exemplary fascists." Totrov published the post after a passenger on a Moscow-Vladikavkaz flight was detained for reading a book in Ukrainian.
Previously, Ruslan Totrov repeatedly criticized the war in Ukraine and the “partial mobilization.” He spoke out that Ossetians are not part of Putin’s so-called “Russian world.” According to him, the Russian army and government have discredited themselves at all levels. He had previously been fined three times. The journalist was forced to leave Russia.