The State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, approved a bill on Tuesday imposing fines of up to 5,000 rubles (€54 or $64) on individuals who search for or access online content deemed "extremist" by authorities. The bill passed with 306 votes in favor and 67 against and will proceed to the upper house. The Ministry of Justice's list of extremist materials, exceeding 500 pages and containing over 5,000 entries, includes diverse content such as songs praising Ukraine and blog posts by Pussy Riot. The implementation details, including the responsibility for monitoring searches, remain unclear.

Several activists and a Kommersant journalist were arrested protesting the bill prior to the vote. Opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin criticized the bill, comparing it to "something out of 1984," while a Duma spokesperson stated the bill targets those "trying to destroy and ruin Russia."

Impact Statement: This legislation significantly restricts online freedom of expression in Russia, raising concerns about censorship and potential for abuse.