"I cried today!" A journalist from Primorye won a defamation case: veterans demanded she be investigated for "justifying terrorism." 

Independent journalist Anna Sharipova from Nakhodka won a defamation lawsuit against the head of the city's Council of Veterans, retired Colonel Sergei Lebedev, and Ukrainian war veteran Andriy Obabkov. They must now pay her 20,000 and 10,000 rubles in compensation, reimburse the cost of the forensic examination, and remove the video. 

"It's like Constitution Day today! I couldn't believe it, even when I paid for the expensive expert analysis, and today I burst into tears. It was a real struggle. All that's left is to finish off the police in the criminal case. For 10 months now, they've been bouncing the libel investigation materials back and forth between the police and the prosecutor's office," Anna shared her impressions of the court's decision with NeMoskva. 

In February 2025, Lebedev and Obabkov recorded a video in which they accused the journalist of "justifying terrorism." They claimed that Sharipova was guided by the views of "terrorist" Alexei Navalny and condemned the SVO and the current government. An expert analysis (available to the editors – NM) determined that the "veterans" expressed negative information about the journalist, used value judgments and opinions, but did not substantiate the facts, meaning they were untrue. 

Neither Lebedev nor Obabkov attended the trials; only their representative participated, Anna added. Despite the court's ruling, unfortunately, they don't have to withdraw their denunciations from the police. She continues to seek criminal defamation proceedings against them. 

Sharipova пишет about Nakhodka's urban problems, which is why she regularly faces pressure. She is being sued by the Svobodniks who connected to the company against her - they demand remove video with them and to pay compensation for them. The persecution itself, считает journalist, started at the instigation of Mayor Timur Maginsky. In the summer, unknown cut her tires on the car - but the police still haven't found anyone. 

Photo: Anna Sharipova.