Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Article 280.3 punishes "public actions aimed at discrediting" the use of the Russian armed forces, and later the activity of state bodies abroad and of "volunteer formations". It was created by the same 4 March 2022 law as Article 207.3. It is a two-step provision: criminal liability arises only for a person already punished under Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences within the previous year. Part 1 provides for up to five years; Part 2, where the "discrediting" is said to have caused death, harm to health, or mass disorder, up to seven.

The documented cases follow that design: an administrative fine for a sign, a post or a remark, then a criminal case for the next one. The conduct is typically a repeated picket, a series of posts, a comment on a court sentence, or an interview. Because the first step is an administrative hearing that takes minutes, the route from speech to a criminal record is short, and the provision is used mostly against activists, priests, teachers and local politicians who kept speaking after the first fine.