In view of the Ukraine war, Russia wants to impose drastic penalties on the dissemination of alleged false information about the Russian armed forces.
The parliament voted in Moscow this Friday for a corresponding change in the law.
There is a risk of heavy fines and up to 15 years in prison.
Media in Russia have been banned from using terms such as “attack,” “invasion,” and “declaration of war” in reporting on the war against Ukraine since last week.
Moscow describes the war as a military "special operation".
In order for the amendment to come into force, the approval of the Federation Council, the second chamber of parliament, and the signature of President Vladimir Putin are still required.
However, both are considered formal.
According to the wording of the law, it is punishable by law to spread alleged false information about Russian soldiers, to discredit Russian armed forces and to call for sanctions against Russia.
It is feared that this will severely restrict the reporting of the remaining independent media in Russia.
The Russian authorities had already blocked several critical broadcasters in the past few days.
The well-known radio station Echo Moskvy announced its closure.
On Friday night, the Deutsche Welle website, the Meduza portal critical of the Kremlin and the Russian-language edition of Radio Liberty were also blocked.
Many people also consume these media via Telegram and VPN tunnels, which was still possible.
Anyone who does not delete content that violates the guidelines must expect a blockade, it was said last week.
This also applies to the dissemination of "false information about the shelling of Ukrainian cities and the death of civilians in Ukraine by actions of the Russian army".
Several media have already been blocked.