Security forces have conducted a search at the home of the mother of ASTRA’s founder in Ulyanovsk, a city on the Volga River.

On the morning of 24 October, law enforcement officers carried out a search at the home of the 61-year-old mother of the outlet’s editor-in-chief, Anastasia Chumakova, reports ASTRA. Officers from the Investigative Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the FSB took part in the search.

The officers read the woman’s personal correspondence and seized her electronic devices.

ASTRA notes that the search was conducted in a flat where the journalist has not lived or been registered for over ten years.

The investigative actions were carried out as part of a criminal case regarding the spreading of so-called “fakes” about the Russian army allegedly motivated by hatred (point “d,” part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code), which has been opened against Chumakova. It is unknown which publications or statements led to this prosecution.

• In October 2024, the Ministry of Justice added ASTRA to the “foreign agents” register. The authorities accused the outlet of spreading false information about Russian Government policies and negatively portraying the Russian army. Following this, Chumakova, who lives abroad, was fined eight times under “foreign agent” legislation.