Defamation and Online Reputation Claims Under Article 152 of the Russian Civil Code

A person in Russia can go to court to protect his honour, dignity and business reputation, and Article 152 of the Civil Code is the main rule. The person who spread the statements must prove they are true; the claimant proves that the defendant spread them and that they are defamatory. If the court finds against the defendant, it orders a retraction made in the same way as the statements were spread, and for information on the internet it can order the statements to be removed.

Online publications, reviews and social media posts produce most of these claims. This guide explains what Article 152 covers, how retraction and removal work, what to do when the author is unknown, how the limitation period works and how a business or a person abroad can protect itself.

Who Is Protected and Against What

The Article protects citizens and extends to the business reputation of legal entities, but a legal entity cannot claim moral compensation under it (paragraph 11). The statements must be about the claimant, must be spread to others and must be false and defamatory in the sense of damaging honour, dignity or business reputation.

A statement of fact can be tested for truth; an opinion or a value judgment cannot be proved true or false in the same way, and courts treat it differently. A review that says "the service was poor" is closer to an opinion, while "the company stole my money" asserts a fact.

The Article also states that rules on the removal of false statements can also apply to any false statements about a citizen if the citizen proves that they are inaccurate. The scope is therefore wider than the typical defamation cases in the media.

Burden of Proof

Under paragraph 1, the defendant must prove that the statements he spread are true. The claimant proves the fact of dissemination, that the statements concern him and that they harm his reputation. This distribution of the burden favours the claimant, which makes the first step, proof of the publication, especially important.

A defendant can show truth with documents, court judgments, official responses and other evidence. Where the statement was a quote from an official source, the defendant can refer to that source, though the details depend on the facts.

The claimant should prepare the evidence of dissemination at once, because content can be deleted. A notary's protocol of the page, an archive copy and the record of the number of views support the claim.

Retraction and Removal

Paragraph 2 provides that for statements in mass media the retraction is published in the same outlet and the claimant may also demand publication of his response. If the statements are in an organisation's document, the document must be replaced or withdrawn. In other cases the court determines the retraction procedure.

For the internet, paragraph 5 states that if the information became available online after its distribution, the person may demand its removal and a retraction that reaches users of the network. Paragraph 4 covers information so widely known that retraction cannot reach everyone, and allows a demand for removal and for the destruction of copies made for distribution.

The court can order the defendant to act within a period. The duty to perform the ordered action remains even if sanctions are imposed for non-compliance (paragraph 7). The claimant may also claim losses and moral compensation together with the retraction (paragraph 9).

When the Author Is Unknown

Paragraph 8 helps when the person who spread the statements cannot be identified. The affected citizen may ask the court to declare the statements untrue. The commentary notes that the law does not require a special publication of such a ruling, but the claimant can use it to approach the website owner and search services.

Identification of the author often starts with the website owner or the platform. The claimant requests data through a court, and where the platform is abroad, the practical result depends on the platform's own rules and cooperation.

A claim against the owner of a site that hosts the information is a separate route. The facts about its role, its knowledge of the content and its failure to remove it after notice must be established.

Limitation Period

Article 152 sets a one-year limitation period for claims arising from statements published in the mass media, counted from the date of publication. For other types of dissemination the general rules apply, and the safest assumption is that delay weakens the claim.

Moral compensation under Article 151 is a different matter. Article 208 of the Civil Code says that limitation does not apply to claims for the protection of personal non-property rights and other intangible benefits, except where the law provides otherwise, as Article 152 does for mass media. A claimant should not rely on this and should file promptly.

Moral Compensation and Losses

A citizen may claim compensation for moral harm for a defamatory publication, and the court sets the amount, considering the nature and degree of suffering and the other circumstances. Losses can be claimed with proof, for instance lost contracts after a false publication about a company.

A legal entity can claim losses and the removal of the statements but not moral harm. A company should therefore document the connection between the publication and the loss: cancelled orders, terminated agreements, a drop in enquiries with dates.

Practical Plan for a Claimant

Save the evidence immediately: page address, date, screenshots, notarial protocol if the matter is serious. Identify the statements that are false and separate them from opinions. Send a written demand to the author or the site owner with a deadline. File the claim with a request for interim measures if the content causes ongoing harm. Choose the court by the defendant's location, and for a company, check whether the dispute belongs to an arbitrazh court.

A person abroad whose reputation is harmed by a Russian publication acts through a Russian representative. A business with partners in several countries should keep the evidence in a form usable in Russian court, with translations.

The attorney prepares demands, claims and evidence for reputation disputes and represents both claimants and defendants. First review covers the publication, its date and the facts that show it is false.

The main channel of communication with the attorney is email: attorneypetrova1@gmail.com.