The (new Kremlin) law about criticizing the government is no more specific.

3-13-2019   The (new Kremlin) law about criticizing the government is no more specific.  The “defamatory information” it punishes includes “insults to human dignity” and a “clear lack of respect for society, the state, state symbols, the constitution and government bodies.”  Fines for such offenses vary from $400 (for first time offenders) to $600 (for repeat offenders).  Repeat offenders can also get up to 15 days jail terms….

  attempts by the Russian government to copy the Chinese model and build ‘sovereign internet’ in Russia.  If they are successful, not only will Russia cut itself off, but the world will have little idea of what is going on.  For now the great Russian firewall only exists in officials’ dreams.    https://thebell.io/en/it-is-now-illegal-to-publish-fake-news-or-criticize-the-government-online/

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Alexey Navalny Verified account @navalny Mar 29 (2019)

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 From today in Russia there is a law prohibiting the insult of power on the Internet.  I, Alexey Navalny, declare: The Presidential Administration and the Government of the Russian Federation is a gathering of thieves, bastards and enemies of Russia.  The Federation Council is filled with scoundrels.  United Russia is a party of crooks and thieves.

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 Peskov's Mustache @Sandy_mustache Mar 28

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 We live in a time when, in general, a completely ordinary speech of the deputy, in which he does not say anything revolutionary, but simply adds 2 and 2, is perceived as something extraordinary and very bold

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Alexey NavalnyVerified account @navalny  Mar 29 

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 S segodnyashnego dnya v Rossii deystvuyet zakon o zaprete oskorbleniya vlasti v internete. YA, Aleksey Naval'nyy, zayavlyayu: Administratsiya prezidenta i pravitel'stvo RF - sborishche vorov, merzavtsev i vragov Rossii. Sovet Federatsii napolnen negodyayami. Yedinaya Rossiya - partiya zhulikov i vorov.

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 Usy Peskova @Sandy_mustache  Mar 28 

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 My zhivem v takoye vremya, kogda, v obshchem-to, sovershenno ryadovoye vystupleniye deputata, v kotorom on ne govorit nichego revolyutsionnogo, a prosto skladyvayet 2 i 2, vosprinimayetsya kak nechto neordinarnoye i ochen' smeloye

https://twitter.com/navalny

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7-13-2018     getting to Kazan from St Petersburg by train felt close.  The first leg was the Sapsan fast train back down to Moscow, which is a slick four-hour ride — comparable in feel to the Eurostar or the Acela between Washington and New York.  The overnight train to Kazan, which we took from Moscow, is something else.  Although the trip is less than 1,000km, the journey took more than 12 hours.

  Petr, our Russian photographer, who accompanied us on to the train, took one look at our sleeping car and said, “I don’t think this has been updated in 40 years.”  But that only added to the romance. …The whole scene, however, revived the lurking question of whether the Russian World Cup should be regarded with ambivalence by those who dislike the Putin government.  There seems little doubt that if the Russian president was hoping to use the World Cup to improve his country’s reputation, he has succeeded.  Given that Russia’s image in the west is now grotesque, many European fans travelled half-expecting to see a country that is falling apart — physically and morally.   So they were pleasantly surprised to find that Moscow and St Petersburg have the grandeur and feel of other great European cities.  Moscow commuters, reading their copies of the Metro and clutching their takeaway coffees, look very familiar to a Londoner.  Visiting supporters enjoyed brilliant football and weather — neither of which were presumably in Putin’s gift, but which added to the positive atmosphere.  After Brazil and South Africa (which were also both great experiences), it was a relief to be in a country with an excellent public transport system and without much threat of street crime.  (The organised variety does not bother the average football fan.)

   Individual Russians, discovering that we are English tourists, have never displayed hostility — although a few asked rather nervously (or defensively) what we thought of the country.  Russians have certainly been encouraged to be hospitable by the government.  Train guards were allegedly taught how to smile and policemen were instructed to offer directions (and did).  But most of the welcomes seemed unfeigned.

  Some Moscow-based westerners are slightly alarmed by the outburst of Russophilia among fans travelling to the football.  One journalist, who has spent the last year complaining to me that Russia is getting an unfair press, has now changed his tune and is worried that many tourists will go home with a false impression of the country.  “They should try living here when the World Cup isn’t on,” he fumed.    https://www.ft.com/content/054f4a94-8521-11e8-96dd-fa565ec55929...