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A court in the Russian city of Chita imposed two $500 fines on local resident Ivan Losev for the two interviews he had given to Dozhd and BBC, Mediazona reports. In these interviews, Losev spoke about an earlier fine he had gotten for recounting his dream about Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Losev was found guilty of two instances of “discrediting the army”. The first report was drawn up after Losev published the BBC's coverage of his story on Instagram. The second report was filed after Dozhd released a YouTube video titled “Fined for a Dream about Zelensky: A Blogger from Chita Shares Details of Army Discrediting Case”.
Losev believes someone told on him to the police.
On December 12, 2022, the court imposed a $480 fine on Losev for “discrediting the army” by recounting his dream on Instagram.
“Last night, I dreamed about being mobilized and brought to some kind of a boot camp. Suddenly, AFU fighters led by Zelensky burst in, rounded everyone up, and were about to execute us by firing squad. At this moment, Zelensky walks past me and says: ‘Ah, I’ve seen your stories on Instagram. Glory to Ukraine!’ I reply: ‘Glory to the heroes!’ Zelensky pats me on the shoulder approvingly and says: ‘Let this one go, and execute everyone else.’ So there we are, me and him, standing side by side watching, and I tell him: ‘Can I get a selfie with you for my Instagram?’ And Zelensky says: ‘Sure,’” Losev wrote in his social media account, describing his dream.