The latest attempt to quash dissent comes into force ahead of presidential elections in March.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing authorities to confiscate the assets of people convicted of spreading “deliberately false information” about the military.
The law, which was signed into law on Wednesday, makes it clear that criminals are guilty of a variety of crimes, including “discrediting” the government and spreading “deliberately false information” about the military and threatening to lose money, property, property or valuables. It targets individuals who have been sentenced.
It also applies to those convicted of publicly inciting “extremist activities” and calling for acts harmful to national security.
This measure was quickly approved by both houses of Congress.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the law could target exiled critics with domestic property, but had “nothing” to do with Soviet-style confiscation, and there was no real risk of it being misused. There is no basis for this.”
Speaker of the Duma Vyacheslav Volodin had previously said he was targeting “scoundrels and traitors, those who today spat on the backs of our soldiers and betrayed the Motherland.”
The current law, which prohibits “discrediting” the military, was adopted as part of the government's sweeping crackdown on dissent after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The law targets crimes such as “justifying terrorism” and spreading “fake news” about the military, and has been widely used to silence Putin's critics.
As the crackdown on free speech and opposition to President Putin intensifies, thousands of activists, bloggers and other Russians have been sentenced to long prison terms, detained or fined for speaking out against the war. Some have been fined.
The new law goes into effect just before the second anniversary of the Ukraine offensive and the March presidential election that all but assured Putin's victory.
Putin has faced no real opposition in elections during the 24 years he has led Russia, and rivals such as opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been jailed.
Presidential candidate Boris Nadezhdin, a prominent critic of the Ukraine war, has been blocked from running. He announced that he would challenge the Election Commission's decision in the Supreme Court.