Anna Alexandrova, a hairdresser from St Petersburg, received a jail sentence of five years and two months for allegedly spreading fake news about the Russian army. She denied the charges, claiming they stemmed from a dispute with her neighbor. The crackdown on dissent in Russia has intensified since the invasion of Ukraine, with many journalists and critics facing severe penalties. In a separate case, four journalists were sentenced for working with an extremist organization linked to Alexei Navalny, who died in custody. The restrictive laws have led to widespread denunciations reminiscent of the Soviet era.